Just Walk Away
by AvariNessaDiego
Summary: The war is over and while Harry is relieved that he no longer has a dark lord out for his blood, he begins to notice that they Wizarding world seems to be depending on him far to much. Through a series of strange and life changing meetings, Harry decides to leave the Wizarding World; Not just for his sake but for the sake of all of Wizarding Britain.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any elements associated with it. They belong to JK Rowling. I do frequently use lines from movies and books in my writing. If you recognize it, its probably not mine. Have no fear, I am making no money from this ;)

Author's Note: This is my first time actually posting this story online so any and all feedback is appreciated. This is just my way of practicing my writing. Thank You!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 _"Maybe a man in a million could unite the Hallows, Harry. I was fit only to possess the meanest of them, the least extraordinary. I was fit to own the Elder Wand, and not boast of it, and not to kill with it. I was permitted to tame and use it, because I took it, not for gain, but to save others from it._

 _"But the Cloak, I took out of vain curiosity, and so it could never have worked for me as it works for you, its true owners. The stone I would have used in an attempt to drag back those who are at peace, rather than enable my self-sacrifice, as you did. You are the worthy possessor of the Hallows." Dumbledore patted Harry's hand, and Harry looked up at the old man and smiled; he could not help himself. How could he remain angry with Dumbledore now?_

 _"Why did you have to make it so difficult?" Dumbledore's smile was tremulous. "I am afraid I counted on Miss Granger to slow you up, Harry. I was afraid that your hot head might dominate your good heart. I was scared that, if presented outright with the facts about those tempting objects, you might seize the Hallows as I did, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. If you laid hands on them, I wanted you to possess them safely. You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying."_

 _"And Voldemort never knew about the Hallows?"_

 _"I do not think so, because he did not recognize the Resurrection Stone he turned into a Horcrux. But even if he had known about them, Harry. I doubt that he would have been interested in any except the first. He would not think that he needed the Cloak, and as for the stone, whom would he want to bring back from the dead? He fears the dead. He does not love."_

 _"But you expected him to go after the wand?"_

 _"I have been sure that he would try, ever since your wand beat Voldemort's in the graveyard of Little Hangleton. At first, he was afraid that you had conquered him by superior skill. Once he had kidnapped Ollivander, however, he discovered the existence of the twin cores. He thought that explained everything. Yet the borrowed wand did no better against yours! So Voldemort, instead of asking himself what quality it was in you that had made your wand so strong, what gift you possessed that he did not, naturally set out to find the one wand that, they said, would beat any other. For him, the Elder Wand has become an obsession to rival his obsession with you. He believes that the Elder Wand removes his last weakness and makes him truly invincible. Poor Severus . . ."_

 _"If you planned your death with Snape, you meant him to end up with the Elder Wand, didn't you?"_

 _"I admit that was my intention," said Dumbledore, "but it did not work as I intended, did it?"_

 _"No," said Harry. "That bit didn't work out."_

~~ _End Excerpt_ ~~

They were silent for a moment, "Do you think I should use it? The Elder Wand."

Dumbledore smiled grimly, "There was a time when I would have said no. The Elder Wand has a long and devastating history." He suddenly looked proud, "I have no doubt that you could handle anything that came with using it. I know that you would not use it for your own gains but for other's benefit. However, I can't help but wonder if using it would be more trouble than it is worth."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Well, maybe I should just put it away. Keep it safe until I do need it. I won't use it unless I feel like it's necessary."

"I think that is a very wise decision."

The creature behind them jerked and moaned, and Harry and Dumbledore sat without talking for the longest time yet. The realization of what would happen next settled gradually over Harry in the long minutes, like softly falling snow. "I've got to go back now, haven't I?"

"That is up to you."

"I've got a choice?"

"Oh yes," Dumbledore smiled at him. "We are in King's Cross you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to . . . let's say . . . board a train."

"And where would it take me?"

"On," said Dumbledore simply. Silence again.

"But, Voldemort's got the Elder Wand."

"True. Voldemort has the Elder Wand, however, you and I both know that it means nothing against you now."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Do you think I should go back?"

"I think," said Dumbledore, "that if you choose to return, there is a chance that he may be finished for good. I cannot promise it. But I know this, Harry that you have less to fear from returning here than he does."

Harry glanced again at the raw looking thing that trembled and choked in the shadow beneath the distant chair.

"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, they we say good-bye for the present."

Harry nodded and sighed. Leaving this place would not be nearly as hard as walking into the forest had been, but it was warm and light and peaceful here, and he knew that he was heading back to pain and the fear of more loss.

He stood up, and Dumbledore did the same, and they looked for a long moment into each other's faces.

"Tell me one last thing," said Harry, "When this is all over, that is, if I survive" He paused, unsure of how to phrase his question, "Do you think I will actually be able to live? Will I be able to move on?"

Dumbledore's smile faded a bit and his eyes tightened. "I must confess that I did not think that far ahead. The wizarding world is in a delicate place right now, as you and I both know. I admit that I fear how they will treat you should you defeat Voldemort. The life of a hero can be rewarding, but it can also be taxing and demanding. I suspect that even when it's all over, they will still look to you to lead them."

Harry frowned having expected that answer but he was still displeased about it.

Suddenly, Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry's ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure. "Of course, once all of this is over, the prophecy will be fulfilled and you have no obligations to anyone. You are not bound to anything. You will be free only if you choose to walk out the open door."

~~~~~~~~~time hop~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun rose steadily over Hogwarts, and the Great Hall blazed with life and light. Harry was an indispensable part of the mingled outpourings of jubilation and mourning, of grief and celebration. They wanted him there with them, their leader and symbol, their savior and their guide. He must speak to the bereaved, clasp their hands, witness their tears, receive their thanks, hear the news now creeping in from every quarter as the morning drew on; that the Imperiused up and down the country had come back to themselves, that Death Eaters were fleeing or else being captured, that the innocent of Azkaban were being released at that very moment, and that Kingsley Shacklebolt had been named temporary Minister of Magic.

It occurred to no one, that it had been many days since Harry had last slept. The fact that he too had lost loved ones and was still injured himself was not on anyone's minds. They wanted him to lead them, reassure them, and be their light. After so many years of doing what others expected, he did exactly that.

After a while, exhausted and drained, Harry found himself sitting on a bench beside Luna, trying not to let the weariness show on his face.

"I'd want some peace and quiet, if it were me," she said, seeming to read his thoughts.

"I'd love some," he replied "but –"

At that moment he was cut off but another ministry wizard who wanted to offer their thanks and congratulations and ask his advice on this issue or that. They left almost as quickly as they arrived and he and Luna were once again alone on the bench.

"I'll distract them all," she said. "Use your cloak." And before he could say a word, she had cried, "Oooh, look, a Blibbering Humdinger!" and pointed out the window.

Everyone who heard looked around, and Harry slid the Cloak up over himself, and got to his feet.

"Thanks Luna." He whispered quietly before slipping off out of the Great Hall.

As he finally moved through the hall without interference, he let his thoughts wander. It was over. It was finally over and in that moment, Harry felt more lost then he had ever been. What was he to do now?

He spotted Ginny sitting just two tables away, her head leaning against her mother's shoulder, looking just as lost as he felt. He found himself surprised when the butterflies in his stomach were suspiciously absent when he looked at her. The thought had come to his mind before as to whether or not he and Ginny would work out when the war was over. There was a part of him that could see it working. They would get married and have kids and everything would be perfect. They had talked about it when they were dating. They had talked about Harry working in the ministry and becoming an Auror. Ginny wanted to play quidditch for a few years before settling down to be a mother. At the time it had seemed perfect.

Now, Harry didn't even want to think about starting a family. Suddenly he saw himself married to Ginny and having children, while that in and of itself was not a bad picture, it was the fact it was shadowed with the fame of being the Boy-Who-Lived or the "Savior of the wizarding world". Still being looked to when a problem arose. There was even a part of him that wondered if Ginny had ever really seen him as anything but the Boy-Who-Lived. It was not the warm happy picture that it used to be.

He shook his head trying to clear those thoughts. He didn't want to think about it now. The war was over. There would be time to talk to Ginny about everything later.

He saw Neville, the sword of Gryffindor lying beside his plate as he ate, surrounded by a knot of fervent admirers. Along the aisle between the tables he walked, and he spotted the three Malfoys, huddled together as though unsure whether or not they were supposed to be there, but nobody was paying them any attention. He made a mental note to talk to Draco and Narcissa in the next couple of days. Narcissa had saved his life, lying about him being dead in the forest. As for Draco, he had a feeling that Dumbledore had been right about him all along. He wanted to clear the air between them.

Everywhere he looked, he saw families reunited, and finally, he saw the two whose company he craved most.

"It's me," he muttered, crouching down between them. "Will you come with me?"

They stood up at once, and together he, Ron and Hermione left the Great Hall. Harry led them to the Headmasters office. Painstakingly he recounted what he had seem in the Pensieve and what had happened in the forest, and they had not even begun to express all their shock and amazement, when at last they arrived at the place to which they had been walking.

They entered the office to the sounds of applause as the portraits on the wall expressed their gratitude. But Harry had eyes only for the man who stood in the largest portrait directly behind the headmaster's chair. Tears were sliding down from behind the half-moon spectacles into the long silver beard, and the pride and the gratitude emanating from him filled Harry with the same balm as phoenix song.

At last, Harry held up his hands, and the portraits fell respectfully silent, beaming and mopping their eyes and waiting eagerly for him to speak. He directed his words at Dumbledore, however, and chose them with enormous care

"The thing that was hidden in the Snitch, I am going to keep it. Not for my own purpose," He held up a hand again as Dumbledore opened his mouth to interrupt. "I am going to keeps so that no one else will be tempted by it. I am well aware of its danger."

Dumbledore, beamed with pride, "Well, then I do agree, if that is your reasoning."

"I'm going to keep Ignotus's present, as well," said Harry, and Dumbledore's smile.

"But of course, Harry, it is yours forever, until you pass it on!"

"And then there's this." Harry held up the Elder Wand, and Ron and Hermione looked at it with a reverence that, even in his befuddled and sleep-deprived state, Harry did not like to see.

"I am not going to use It." said Harry.

"What?" said Ron loudly, "Are you mental?"

"I know it's powerful," said Harry wearily. "But I was happier with mine. So . . ."

He rummaged in the pouch hung around his neck, and pulled out the two halves of holly still just connected by the finest threat of phoenix feather. Hermione had said that they could not be repaired, that the damage was too severe. All he knew was that if this did not work, nothing would.

He laid the broken wand upon the headmaster's desk, touched it with the very tip of the Elder Wand, and said, "Reparo."

As his wand resealed, red sparks flew out of its end. Harry knew that he had succeeded. He picked up the holly and phoenix wand and felt a sudden warmth in his fingers, as though wand and hand were rejoicing at their reunion.

"I'm putting the Elder Wand," he told Dumbledore, who was watching him with enormous affection and admiration, "in the safest place in the wizarding world besides Hogwarts. It will stay there unless I feel that it is needed, which I am hoping it will not. If I die a natural death like Ignotus, That'll be the end of it. You will not know this, but that is what I discussed with you."

Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly and he nodded, showing that he understood. They smiled at each other.

"Are you sure?" said Ron. There was the faintest trace of longing in his voice as he looked at the Elder Wand.

"I think Harry's right," said Hermione quietly. "Something that powerful should only be used if it's absolutely needed."

"That wand's more trouble than its worth." said Harry. "And quite honestly," he turned away from the painted portraits, thinking now only of the four-poster bed lying waiting for him in Gryffindor Tower, and wondering whether Kreacher might bring him a sandwich there, "I've had enough trouble for a lifetime."

Ron and Hermione chuckled and the three of them moved out of office. They had just barely made it down the corridor when a shout of "Mr. Potter! Can I ask you a couple of question!" came from further down.

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry apologetically as the wizards began spouting off questions and comments that Harry did his best to answer. To Harry horror, other witches and wizards had apparently been looking for him and were now descending on him like a pack of wolves, all of them asking question and offering thanks and congratulations. Finally Harry had enough. He decided put to use a little trick that he had learned and perfected over the years. It had always worked with other students but he had never tried it on an adult.

He gathered a bit of the magic from his core and directed it to his vocal cords. Once this was done he spoke.

"I think that's quite enough" His voice wasn't loud, nor was it angry. However the magic had done its work and making his voice sound powerful and dangerous. He put just enough warning in his statement to show that he was serious.

To his shock it worked. Almost immediately, every witch or wizard fell silent and stared at him in awe. He took one step and watched with hidden amazement as the group that he had stepped towards stepped to the side. Taking another step, it happened again. He continue to walk away from the group until there was no one else in front of him.

As he was walking away he felt more then heard the slight thunder of multiple pair of feet following behind him. He immediately stopped and turned around to see that they were indeed trying to follow him. When they saw him looking they stopped once again. He was amazed that at the slightest show of power, these people would do anything he told them to.

It was disgusting.

With that thought he turned the corner an immediately put his invisibility cloak on. He was glad to see Ron and Hermione weren't contributing to the sea of awed faces. In fact they both just looked slightly amused and apologetic at the same time.

No wonder Voldemort had taken over so easily.

End Chapter One. As you may have noticed, Harry in this story is just a bit more powerful than cannon Harry. You will see this more and more in later chapters. Also I know that in the book, Harry dropped the resurrection stone but in this story lets just say for arguments sake, he put it in his pocket instead. I have a reason for him keeping and you will see later on.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. See you next time.


	2. Just a Small Change

Here is Chapter 2. Again, I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that you might recognize. I am not getting any profit from this, just practice.

* * *

Hope can do one of two things to a person. It can give them the strength to do what needs to be done. It can be the force that drives a person to great things.

However, it can also bring someone great disappointment. When you hope for something only for it to never happen, it can be devastating.

This is what Harry experienced in the week following the final battle. He had hoped that people would rise to the occasion and begin making changes. He had hoped that Kingsley Shacklebolt, as the temporary minster of Magic, would take charge and do what needs to be done. That McGonagall would take Hogwarts and turn it back into the school that it once was, maybe even making a few changes along the way. He thought that maybe the Daily Prophet would actually start printing news maybe about the effects that the war had on their world.

His hope was quickly vanquished. Shacklebolt, while Harry knew he was not stupid, could not seem to think for himself. He kept asking to meet with Harry, asking his opinion on this issue or that. McGonagall was just a bad trying figure out what Hogwarts needed. She had asked him what he thought and has seemed awed when he said, "Can't we just start by rebuilding the castle." It should have been common sense.

Even the Daily Prophet was still up to their old games. They would speculate on whether Voldemort was really dead or how Harry defeated him or the rumors about Harry's love life. Quite frankly, Harry was disgusted with it and he could tell that he wasn't the only one. There were many who were feeling the same thing that Harry was. They saw what needed to be done, but it was like those who had the power to do something didn't see it.

It was at this point that many of them turned to Harry, knowing that he had the influence to do something. Hermione had taken to telling him every morning to set up a meeting with the ministry to make something happen. Dean Thomas kept asking Harry when he was going to run for minister saying, "You could do a much better job than this lot."

The worst, though, was Ginny. She had taken to cornering Harry in the most random places. She would kiss him and make it seem like she wanted to spend time with him. That was bad enough with his already confused feeling for her, but then she was say little comments like, "Everyone is looking to you Harry." And "They are waiting for you" and his personal favorite (not) "You're a hero now, don't you want to help people"

She would say these thing and he would always reply in his most flat emotionless tone, "I don't want anyone looking to me" and "Well they are going to be waiting for a while" and of course, "I have been helping people".

This was the reason that he was currently hiding out in a tree in the forbidden forest. He had noticed that witches and wizards tended to not look up when they were looking for someone. It was a very sad, but fortunate thing for him. He had done this every day for the last three days and no one had yet to find him.

"Harry!"

Once again, someone was looking for him. This time, from the voice, it sounded like Neville who was the one person that had not tried to track him down and force him to do something. He really hoped that Neville didn't jump on that bandwagon.

"Harry! Where are you?" He shouted again, this time much closer then Harry had anticipated. Most tended to stay out of the forest, but it seemed that Neville had once again surprised him.

Harry did his best to keep still, but he wanted to look down just to see how far away Neville was.

Bad idea

With a snap, the branch that Harry had grabbed to steady himself as he looked down had snapped, causing Harry to lose his balance and tumble down from the tree. In that moment he cursed himself for being so careless and braced himself to meet the ground. Except it never happened. His robes had caught on a branch and had prevented him meeting the earth, but only just.

Harry opened his eyes (which he didn't realize he had closed) and observed two things. Neville was standing right in front of him and two he, Harry was hanging upside down, looking like a complete fool.

Neville just laughed, "Wow! I don't think I've ever seen you so caught off guard Harry." With that he pulled out his wand to help his friends out of the tree and properly onto the ground.

As the blood rushed from his head back into his body, Harry glared at the other boy, "Ha ha. Very funny."

Neville just smile and took a seat on the ground next to Harry, drawing patterns in the ground as he let the Boy-Who-Lived gather his bearings.

Harry just watch and waited for Neville to speak. After all Neville had come looking for him so there must be something he wanted. Right?

However, the other boy made no move to do anything. So they sat in silence before, finally, Harry couldn't take the wait.

"So which ministry official is asking for me today?" He asked trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"What I can't just come hang out with you. Maybe I just wanted to sit with you and see how you were doing."

Harry looked sheepish, "Sorry Nev. I guess I'm a little high strung lately. Not many people have come to just to sit and chat the last week."

Neville look up at him with a sad smile on his face. He seemed to hesitate for a minute before replying, "You know, you can always tell them no."

"You think I haven't tried that. Most of them won't take no for an answer."

Neville nodded understandingly before smirking, "So that's why you've taken to hiding in trees."

Harry scowled half-heartedly seeing the jest for what it was, "It seemed to be the only thing that would give me a bit of peace and it worked until you came along."

The two boys sat in silence once again, taking in the sounds of the forest in the day time when it was relatively safe. Harry found it ironic that the one place they were always told to stay away from during school was the one place that they could find solitude.

It wasn't until the air started to cool and the sun began to set when Neville suddenly stood up. "Well I'm starving so I'm going to get dinner. You wanna come?"

Harry thought for a moment before standing up as well, "Sure why not."

Neville grinned mischievously, "Good, cause Minister Shacklebolt has been wanting to meet with you since lunch.

Harry sputtered, "Wha – I thought you said no one wanted to meet with me?"

"That's not what I said. I just said that I maybe I wanted to sit with you. I've done that and it was great, but I was sent to find you for the minister." Neville said as they began walking back to the castle.

For the first time in a very long time, Harry laughed a true full bellied laugh that made his sides hurt. In that moment he appreciated Neville more than ever.

As they were walking and Harry began to calm down, Neville spoke again sounding very serious, "Harry I was serious about what I said earlier. You should start telling people no, and then sticking with it. It's not fair that people keep putting all of this pressure on you."

Harry nodded, "I know, but these people really just won't take that for an answer." He sighed mournfully, "I am just hoping that everything settles down enough that I can just...I don't know...slip away."

Harry didn't say anything more than that for two reasons, One he wasn't even sure yet what he meant by that and two, from the look on Neville's face, he had already derived enough from that simple statement to know what Harry meant.

As they approached the front doors, Neville stopped for a moment causing Harry to stop as well. "Harry, whatever it is that you decide to do, know that I'll support you to the end." He stopped for a moment trying to think of the right words to say. "I followed you this far and I'm with you to the end of the line."

Harry tried his best to not look appalled. He had thought that Neville was different then every other wizard who had said something very similar.

Neville seeing that his words were being taken the wrong way, backtracked, "I'm not saying that just because of your titles Harry. I'm not trying build a political ally. I'm not following you blindly and I'm not expecting anything of you. I am just saying that because I have watched as you have constantly made sacrifices for other people's happiness. If you decided to finally make some sacrifices for yourself, even if it means doing what the rest of the wizarding world will not like, then know that I will have your back."

Harry breathed a small sigh of relief. He had almost taken Neville promise the wrong way, but now that he understood, he once again felt gratitude to his friend.

He smiled, "Thanks Nev. I really appreciate that."

They both looked at the door for a moment before Neville said a quiet, "Ready?"

"Never." Harry replied flatly as he pushed the door open

Nearly as soon as they walked in they were accosted by people.

"Harry! There you are! The minister has been looking for you all day." Ginny shrieked and then proceeded to drag Harry into the Great Hall where he could see Shacklebolt sitting and eating while talking to McGonagall.

Harry sighed irritably and made a mental note to talk to Ginny at his next opportunity. Shaking her off, he made his way over to Kingsley and sat down while piling food on a plate.

"Sorry minister, I wasn't aware that you needed me today. Otherwise I wouldn't have made it so hard for Neville to find me." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Neville sit next to him with a relieved grin on his face.

Kingsley smiled lightly. "Not at all Harry. I apologize for pulling you away from what you were doing. This was rather last minute for me as well."

Isn't it always Harry couldn't help but think to himself, "Well, what can I do for you today?"

Kingsley sighed and leaned forward, folding his hand on the table in front of him. "I had a meeting with the muggle Prime Minister today and...well, he's not happy. Apparently, he had been trying to get in touch with us for a while. I was finally able to meet with him and filled him on everything. Naturally, after hearing about you he insisted on meeting you."

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. This was new. He could understand ministry officials and even everyday witches and wizards. They had been in the war. They had actually seen him through the years. However, to have the Muggle Prime Minister wanting to meet him was both terrifying and thrilling at the same time.

He nodded at Kingsley, "Alright, how can I get a hold of him to set up a meeting."

"No need, I already set it up for you. You are meeting with him on Thursday morning at 10:00."

Harry nodded again, trying not be irritated that the meeting had been set without his consent. As annoyed as he got with Kingsley he knew that the man wasn't doing it on purpose.

"Well, then I will be there. Now if you will excuse me, I do have other things to attend to." Harry said. He stood from the table intending to skip the rest of dinner.

Kingsley frowned, "Oh, I was hoping to be able to chat with you about –"

"Sure, that's great." Harry said distractedly. He really didn't want to talk about any more new legislations or by laws right now, "Perhaps we can set up a meeting tomorrow. Unfortunately I am rather busy tonight."

Kingsley nodded disappointedly. Harry immediately began walking away before the man had a chance to ask anything else.

He had almost made it to the entrance hall when he suddenly heard his name being shouted behind him. Turning he caught sight of Ginny jogging towards him with a bright smile on her face.

"Where are you going?" She asked as she reached him.

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. I just wanted to go for a walk."

"Well, I'll come with you." She insisted and immediately began dragging him out the doors. Harry didn't protest.

For a while they just walked in silence. Harry had no particular destination in mind and apparently neither did Ginny. They eventually ended up walking around the lake. At some point during their walk she had grabbed his hand. They were silent but the silence was not uncomfortable. In that moment Harry let himself be content with how normal everything felt.

Then the moment ended.

"So," said Ginny, "What did the minister want to talk to you about?"

Harry frowned. He really didn't want to talk about this right now. Couldn't they just talk about normal things for once?

"He said that the muggle Prime Minister wanted to meet me."

Ginny beamed, "Well that's great! I mean, I'm sure that there are a lot of people who will want to meet you."

"Yeah, well..." Harry tried to think of something to say. He knew she was right but it didn't mean he had to like it.

Ginny seemed to realize that her excitement outweighed his own. She stopped and turned him to face her.

"What's wrong?"

Harry gave a nervous laugh as he ran his hand through his hair. Where would he start? He could write a book about all the things that were wrong in his mind right now.

"I just – sure it's great but it just doesn't make sense. What would he want to see me for?"

"Harry, you just saved the whole wizarding world. Why wouldn't he want to meet you?" Harry opened his mouth to reply but she continued, "I know that it's hard to understand right now, but I'm sure it will get easier. Look at it this way; with all of these people that you are meeting, it will be easy for you to join the Aurors. No one would think twice about letting the Man-Who-Conquered join their team."

Harry shook his head, "I don't even know if I want to be an Auror anymore."

Ginny looked somewhat shocked by this but hid it well. "Okay. Again, you could probably do whatever you wanted and nobody would stop you. The connections that you build now Harry will always help you in your future...our future."

She had said the last part, as she leaned in to kiss him. Harry tried to kiss her back, but the fire was just not there. She apparently could tell that he was not into it and so pulled back with a frown on her face.

"What else is wrong Harry? Talk to me."

Harry took a deep breath as he decided to just tell her everything. What harm could it do, plus, she had always been supportive of him in the past.

"Ginny, I don't even know what kind of opportunities there are in the wizarding world. My entire career at Hogwarts was always about Voldemort. I mean, sure I said that I wanted to be a Auror, but I look back and wonder if maybe I just picked that because it was the first thing that I thought of. I never even thought I would live this long. I never tried to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I just wanted to try and survive. Now I have people asking me to do so many things that I really have no experience in. McGonagall wants me to help her get Hogwarts up and running. Kingsley wants my help in getting the Ministry back on its feet. I have had so many people that I don't even know asking my advice on things that I have never even heard about."

During his rant, Harry had begun using his hands to talk until Ginny grabbed both of his hands in hers and pulled him back towards her.

"Well, Harry, you can't blame them. War tears everything apart and people need a leader. They need someone to give them hope. You're the one who led us to victory Harry and they recognize that. You just have to get used to it. People are looking to you."

Harry became increasingly more upset as Ginny continued to talk. Didn't she hear the words coming out of her mouth?

"I don't want anyone looking to me" He snapped ripping his hands away from her.

"I don't think that's up to you. People will do what they want, so you might as well get used to it." She snapped back, "Merlin Harry! I don't know what else you expect. This is just the way things are. It's the way the wizarding world has always been. People need someone to look up to. They recognize the power in you and they will follow that."

"You don't think that's a problem." Harry asked incredulously, "Isn't that what has gotten them into situations like this over and over in history. Don't you think it's time for the wizarding world to start thinking on their own instead of throwing themselves at any show of power that they see?"

"Of course but how can they do that if they don't know how?"

Harry threw his hands in the air, "Well, I don't know, but I don't think they will learn if they keep asking the hero of the century to think for them."

Ginny sputtered for a minute not having a reply for that. Instead she changed the subject. "So what are you going to do then? If you don't want to be an Auror what do you want to do?"

He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I don't know yet. That's what I've been trying to figure out"

He felt her wrap her arms around him, "I know that you'll figure it out. Whatever you decide to do, I know that you will be great at it. Whether you decide to teach at Hogwarts or play quidditch or even if you decide to work in some pitiful little shop in Diagon Alley, I will be there for you."

Harry was silent for a moment, just letting her hug him. The thought had been in his mind for a while and it was even more prominent after his talk with Neville. Twice today, people have pledged that they will stand by him no matter what. However, Ginny's confession felt different the Neville's. He decided to test her on it.

"What if I decide to do something outside of the wizarding world?" He asked carefully, quietly observing her reaction.

She pulled back with a snort. "Yeah, okay Harry" She said sarcastically until she saw just how serious he was. "You're serious."

"Well, yeah. I mean, I want the chance to actually be able to learn a trade. I feel like maybe if I don't have the shadow of being a hero then I might actually enjoy whatever I choose to do."

Ginny frowned, "That's ridiculous Harry. Why would you turn your back on the people you just saved? They need you more than ever and you want to just walk away from them?"

Harry narrowed his eyes not liking her response. "What more can I do for them Ginny. I'm not that smart and I don't know enough about wizarding culture to do much. I might just be more of a hindrance then anything."

"You just let the ministry handle that, all you need to do is just let people see you. They just need their hero Harry."

Harry pulled away from her as she tried to grab his hands again, " _They_ need a hero...or _you_ need a hero?"

Her eyes widened in shock as Harry continued, "I thought that you understood that I'm no hero Ginny. I'm just Harry."

"Yes you are just Harry, but you are also a hero. Dumbledore knew just how great you were –"

"I wasn't great Ginny! I was obedient! I did what was expected of me. That is what everybody liked about me!"

"Stop underestimating yourself! You are a hero!" She nearly screamed at him, her face and ears beginning to turn red with anger.

It was in that moment that Harry knew that as much as she tried to say she would support him, she really wouldn't. She saw him as the rest of the wizarding world saw him. Their hero, their savior. He knew that she had the right heart, but that just not what he needed in his life. He knew that if he was ever going to be able to do what he wanted, he would have to do it without her.

If he were really honest with himself, he had known that this was coming for a while. That still didn't lessen the sting in his heart.

Closing his eyes for a moment to gather himself he tried to think of the right words to say.

"Ginny," He started softly, somewhat startled by the pain in his voice, "I get it. You see me as a hero and as a man who can build a great future for everyone around him. I know that we talked about what kind of life we would have after the war. You told me that I would make a great husband and father and be a successful wizard. And you are probably right. I could be all of those things. The things is, I think that you want those thing much more than I do. Because of that I don't know how much longer we can keep fooling ourselves about our relationship."

Her eyes grew wide and tears began pooling at the corners as she realized what he was saying, "What are you - ? No, Harry, please – I –"She attempted to grab his hand again, but he pulled away as gently as he could.

"I'm sorry Ginny, but I can't be the hero that you want anymore."

"Harry!"

"It's over Ginny. I'm sorry"

He couldn't bear to see her cry anymore then she already was. So with that, he turned and walked back up to the castle trying to ignore the sobs of the broken-hearted girl that he was leaving behind.

It was Thursday morning and Harry was feeling even more miserable than ever. After his break up with Ginny, things just did not get easier. Every time he saw her she looked like she would burst into tears just at the sight of him. He had approached all of the Weasley's the same night that he broke it off with her, not wanting ruin his relationships with the rest of the family. He could still remember it like it had just happened.

 _~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~_

 _"Mr. Weasley? Can I talk to you for a moment?"_

 _He had just walked back into the castle and caught the Weasley family as they were leaving the great hall. He had originally just wanted to talk to Mr. Weasley but as he looked at the family and saw that they needed each other more than ever he changed his plans._

 _"Actually maybe it would be best if I talked to all of you." He said as he led them to the alcove in the entrance hall._

 _As they were walking inside he caught Hermione's and Ron's arm. He knew that he could talk to them later._

 _"Ron, Hermione, will you please, go outside and find Ginny? She is probably still down by the lake. She – she's going to need some support right now." He asked quietly, his voice cracking slightly with emotion._

 _It seemed that Hermione immediately understood and dragged a confused Ron along as she explained to him what Harry was trying to say. He could tell when Ron understood because he stopped and turn around to look at his friend. He gave Harry the 'we'll-talk-about-this-later' look, to which Harry nodded solemnly._

 _Finally he closed the door and turned to the Weasley family who were all staring at him. Although, Mr. Weasley had a look on his face that showed that he knew exactly what Harry was going to tell them. He gave Harry a small sad smile and gestured for him to start._

 _"Thanks for talking to me. I know that you have all had a long day and so I am just going to come out and say what I need to say. Please let me finish before you decide to kill me." Harry started pleadingly._

 _Taking a deep breath he explain what had just happened with Ginny and how he had broken up with her. He then proceed to quickly explain his reasoning as he saw George and Percy begin to get upset with him._

 _"Please understand that I never wanted to hurt her, but I think I would have hurt her more if I had led her on to believe that everything was okay. I'm telling you because she is going to need you now more than ever."_

 _"Where is she now?" Mr. Weasley asked softly placing a calming hand on his son's shoulders._

 _"I sent Ron and Hermione to go find her. I wasn't going to leave her there." He sighed heavily, "I'm sorry that I have to add this to your plate, but I wanted to be the one to tell you. It is my fault that she is hurting and I want to do what I can to help. I don't want to lose your friendship but I understand if this does put a rift between us." His voice started to crack as the suppressed emotion started to come up._

 _"Oh, Harry." Mrs. Weasley came and hugged him tightly, "We love you and we will still be here for you."_

 _George sighed and walked over as well, "Yeah mate. We'll still be here for you. It might take some time for things to go back to normal but you'll still be family, no matter what."_

 _Harry pulled away from Mrs. Weasley wiping the tears that he didn't realize had fallen. "Thank you. You should probably head to Gryffindor Tower. I told Ron and Hermione to make sure that they got Ginny there."_

 _They agreed and walked out together. Mr. Weasley was the last to leave. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder causing him to look up at the older man. "What they said is true Harry." He started, "We still see you as family. However, I do also agree with George. I might take a couple weeks before we can start treating you that same. Ginny will need time to heal. So, do feel bad if we decide to give you and her some space."_

 _Harry nodded, "I expected as much."_

 _With another smile, he walked out of the room, leaving Harry to his thoughts._

 _~~~~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~~_

Ron had definitely given Harry a good hit in the arm for hurting his little sister. However, Harry was surprised that a punch was all that the red-head gave him. Ron then explained that after talking to Ginny (and Hermione explaining things) he understood where Harry was coming from.

With the Weasley's keeping a distance to be there for Ginny, Harry had found himself even more surrounded by well-wishers and wizards wanting his help and advice. During these times, Neville and surprisingly Susan Bones had been his saving grace. They would at times, distract people enough for Harry to slip away. Other times they would tell people that they would get Harry for them and then proceeding to sneak Harry to Hogsmead for a butterbeer.

By the time Thursday rolled around, Harry was definitely looking forward to getting out of the wizarding world for a while. Kingsley had offered to escort him and let Harry use his fireplace which had direct access to the Prime Minister's office. However, Harry had insisted that he had other means of getting there.

He awoke early as he normally did. Fighting in a war tended to change your sleeping pattern. After months of waking early to change locations and trying to make sure they were caught, Harry had become not only even more of an early riser then he already was but he also became a very light sleeper. This only made rooming with Ron harder than it used to be.

Because of this he found himself waking up at about 4:00 in the morning. He tried for about an hour to go back to sleep but found it to be impossible as he thought about his meeting with the Prime Minister.

It was kind of like going into unknown territory. He didn't know what the Prime Minister was like. Would he be ignorant and arrogant like the ministers for magic? Would he be manipulative or demanding? How much did he know about the magical world? How much did he know about Harry? Why did he want to meet Harry?

As these questions ran through his mind, he knew that he would not be able to get anymore sleep. So quietly, he get out of bed and began to get ready. Since he would be in the Muggle World he figured that it would be best to not wear his robes. He had prepared for this just a couple of days before. He asked Neville to exchange some galleons into muggle money for him and he had gone on a quick shopping trip to get some clothes that he would actually be comfortable in.

He dressed quickly into a pair of dark wash jeans and a white shirt that he tucked in. He then added a green long-sleeved button up shirt and a suit jacket to go over it. He tried his best to do something with his hair. He was able to get it presentable and quickly used a spell that Susan had taught him to keep it in place.

As he laced up his black dragon hide boots he heard Ron's voice.

"Where are you off to so early?"

Harry looked over to see Ron sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. He clearly had just woken and it amazed Harry how alert he was.

"I have to meet with the muggle Prime Minister today. I figured I would just get an early start." Harry replied grabbing his wand and placing it in his wrist holster and then placing the elder wand into his ankle holster. He had no intention to use the elder wand if he didn't have to but he felt that while he had it, he should probably keep it on his person.

Ron nodded as he swung his legs over the side, "Do you think that if I go down now they might have breakfast?"

Harry chuckled, glad to see that his friend hadn't changed that much, "There's only one way to find out." He replied walking out the door, laughing again, as Ron gave a groan.

Harry quickly made his way through the castle knowing that it was too early for anyone else to be awake but not wanting to take any chances. As soon as he got out of the newly reconstructed wards, he apparated to the train station. He had never been to Downing Street before and so didn't want to risk splinching himself or apparating in front of some poor muggle. He quickly got a pass that would allow him to ride the underground for the day. He spent the time on the underground preparing himself for an unknown meeting. He tried to convince himself that maybe the Prime Minister wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he was more competent then the wizards Harry had encountered in the ministry of magic. He could only hope that this meeting would be quick and easy and then Harry could go back to doing what he needed to do.

He didn't know how wrong he was.

* * *

Thanks for reading...Until next time


	3. The Queen

Hey everybody

I know that I am updating very quickly. I do this because this part of the story is already written. I am a bit of a perfectionist so rather than posting one chapter at a time and then constantly changing or editing what I have posted, I try to finish a story before posting it after doing a final edit.

With that said, I had the time to edit and so I will be posting the majority if not the entirety of this story today.

On a separate note, this next part of the story has mentions of the British government. Please know that I am live in the US and therefore have no real idea how the british government is run. Keep that in mind.

Now, Onward...

* * *

Kevin Fischer was not having a good week. He had thought that the campaigns and work that it took to become Prime Minister was the hardest part. It wasn't until he was actually in office that he realized just how difficult his job really was.

The day that his fireplace glowed green and a man in a green bowler hat stepped out of it had changed his life forever. Magic is real and there was a whole secret world that was invisible to him. A world that was within his own, but had its own laws, its own government, and its own traditions. He tried not to think about it too much as it tended to make his head hurt.

Since then his job just got harder and harder. Fudge had come to him more times than he had ever wanted and with it came more and more problems. Eventually it got to a point where a new "Minister of Magic" came to meet him and he realized that there was a lot more to this hidden world that he had been led to believe.

In the past year, the strange disappearances and events increased, and yet Kevin heard nothing from the New Minister. He had even tried talking to that silly portrait handing on the wall of his office, demanding to speak to someone. But the ugly painting stayed suspiciously still and silent.

Her Majesty was demanding answers and Kevin had no idea how to get them.

Then about three weeks ago, the stupid portrait had spoken for the first time in almost a year. Kevin prepared himself to meet a new Minister for Magic and so was therefore surprised when Kingsley Shacklebolt, a man who had been part of his guard before disappearing without a trace stepped through the fireplace. He could remember how, through his shock, he had nearly shouted,

"Kingsley! What is going on! What is happening? I thought that the Minister of Magic was coming"

Kingsley had smiled tiredly but brightly as he explained that he was acting minister of magic currently. It was then that Kevin noticed the slight bruising on his dark face and how he seemed to be walking with a limp. He was sure at that point that something terrible had happened.

Kingsley had then sat down and explained everything that had happened in the last year. The Ministry of Magic had been taken over by this Voldemort person. The minister of Magic had been killed and replaced by one of Voldemort people. He explained how the Wizarding World had turned into a very dark place.

Then he started talking about someone named Harry Potter and how he and two others had disappeared but were rumored to be fighting against Voldemort. He then recounted the battle at the only wizarding school they had (seriously, who decides to have a battle at a school) and how Harry Potter had died and come back to life and then single handedly defeated Voldemort.

Kevin felt like from that point on the only thing he heard was, "Harry Potter said..." or "Harry Potter did..." or "Harry suggested..." or "Harry thinks..." If he didn't know any better he would have thought that this Harry Potter was the one running the wizarding world instead of Kingsley.

He had trouble accepting everything as he had before. Normally he would let the wizarding world do what they wanted. He really wanted no part of it. However, as he listened to Kingsley gush over this man who was apparently a superhero of some sort, he couldn't help but wonder if there was anything he could do on his own. He knew that war destroyed everything. Yet it seemed that the only one who knew what they were doing was this Harry Potter. Could the wizarding world really stand firm by itself?

It was then that he wondered what Her Majesty would think. She of course knew of the Magical World but, like the Prime Minister had left it alone. The treaty stated that they would stay out of the affairs of the magical community. He had told her everything he knew up to this point. She was not happy with his last report but still didn't feel that there was much they could do. He had a feeling that she would change her mind after reading his next report.

Kingsley had apologized for everything and tried to assure the Prime Minister that from now on everything would be better and they would hopefully, "not see each other again"

Yeah, he had heard that before.

This time However, Kevin was not going to let it slide. He had told Kingsley that he wanted to meet this Harry Potter who had apparently saved the world. What he didn't say was he wanted to talk to the man who was apparently running the country seeing as that is all Kingsley could talk about.

Kingsley agreed and they had set up a meeting for three weeks from that day at 10:00 in the morning. From there the meeting ended rather quickly and soon enough the Prime Minister was once again alone in his office.

Since then he had been trying his best to prepare for Harry Potter's arrival. He had sent his report to Her Majesty but he had yet to hear back from her. He came up with a list of questions and demands to make sure that he had control of the situation.

However the day that he was supposed to meet with Harry Potter he had received a phone call from the Buckingham Palace that Her Majesty wanted meet with him immediately about the situation with the wizarding world. When he said that he was supposed to be meeting with a leader in the wizarding world today, he received a second phone call minutes later. Apparently Her Majesty wanted to meet Harry Potter as well and had told him to bring the wizard leader with him.

So here he was, waiting in his office for the fireplace to turn green and deposit another wizard who was probably just as clueless and arrogant as Fudge and Scrimgeour. He glanced at his watch to see that it was 10 minutes till 10:00. He knew that he would need to leave as soon as the wizard got here so he sat waiting.

But there was nothing. No announcement from the portrait not green flames. Nothing.

He was so focused on the fireplace that he was startled by a knock on his office door and his secretary poked her head in.

"Prime Minister," She said calmly, seeming to notice that she had startled him. "Your 10:00 appointment is here?" She said it in a question as if to verify that he actually had someone he was meeting at 10:00.

Kevin was baffled. He glanced at the fireplace to make sure that it had not shot out a wizard while he was not looking. But it had stayed the same. How had the wizard gotten here? In the back of his mind he knew that they could probably travel the same way that normal people did, but he had seen them arrive in such strange ways that he couldn't fathom it.

He shook his head as he saw his secretary still waiting for any answer, "Ah, yes. Name?" He asked wanted to make sure it was the wizard in question.

She frowned as she looked at her clip board, concerned that he didn't know who he was meeting.

"It's a – Harry Potter?"

He nodded, quickly standing and gathering his things. "Take him through security and then have him escorted to the car. We will be meeting with Her Majesty this morning."

She nodded, and while she looked confused, still carried out his orders.

He quickly made his way down, trying to ignore the men that gathered around him as he prepared to exit. He had gotten used to having his security team follow him around that didn't mean that he necessarily liked it.

They made it to the car quickly and he waited for the wizard that his security team would be bringing along. He tried to imagine what he would look like. In his mind's eye he saw a middle aged man possibly with graying hair, small beady eyes and a long nose. Maybe he would have a beard and look something like Gandalf.

Multiple images like this popped into his mind as he tried to imagine what the wizard who saved the world would look like. So when he finally heard multiple pairs of footsteps indicating that the wizard had arrived, he turned around to have all of the images he had come with blasted away.

Walking between two of his security guards was a nothing more than a teenager! He was just above average in height, black hair and glasses, and nothing like what he had imagined.

What was Kingsley playing at? He was supposed to meet the wizard who had apparently saved the world not this boy.

And yet even as he thought it, he saw that the boy walked with a confidence that Kevin himself had taken years to gain. He had a small smile on his face but his eyes, which were the strangest color of green that he ever saw, had a slight hint of danger.

The Prime Minister tried to keep as professional as possible as he introduced himself.

"Harry Potter?" he asked, once again to make sure that this was the right person

The boy nodded slowly extending a hand which Kevin took. "Kevin Fischer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom."

Harry smiled lightly, "It's a pleasure Prime Minister. I apologize if I am late, I was under the impression that we would be meeting here today."

Kevin nodded still somewhat baffled, "Quite alright. This is all very last minute for me as well."

Normally, they would have to ride in separate cars; however, Kevin really wanted to talk to Harry before they arrived at the palace. So, he gestured for the boy to enter into his car, giving his security a look when he entered after him.

Finally as the door shut and they began driving away, The Prime Minister couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Is this a joke?"

Harry looked confused, "I'm sorry?"

"Kingsley was going on and on about this savior of the wizarding world and how he was so wise and powerful. He kept saying "Harry Potter this" and "Harry Potter that". When I asked to meet Harry Potter he neglected to tell me that he would be sending a teenager."

Harry gave a sad, apologetic smile. "Ah, yes. Well, in all honesty, Prime Minister, I think that Kingsley himself forgets sometimes. You see I am considered an adult in the Wizarding World and he probably didn't know that the age of majority is different in your world."

Kevin shook his head in astonishment. There was no way that this kid did all the things that Kingsley had said. Again, even as he thought this and cast a critical eye over the boy in front of him, he knew in the back of his mind that there was something dangerous about the lad in front of him. He didn't necessarily feel threatened though. If anything, he felt strangely safe with the wizard in the car with him. He would have continued to let his thoughts go but Harry's voice snapped him out of it.

"If you don't mind me asking, where exactly are we going?" Harry asked as he looked out the window of the car trying to figure it out.

Kevin smirked. This time, he knew something that the wizards didn't know. "Apparently I am not the only one who wants to meet you."

Harry tensed up almost immediately and Kevin could tell that he was preparing to fight if he needed to. "And who exactly wanted to meet me?"

Kevin just gestured out the window as they were moving through the gates of Buckingham Palace. Harry looked and for a moment his face was still confused. Then Kevin watch with satisfaction as his eyes widened in shock and he whipped his head around to stare at the Prime Minister.

"Please tell me we are not going to meet the Queen?" Harry asked, not in fear or disgust as he was expecting but with slight awe and intimidation in his voice. Harry was turning out to be very different than the other wizards that he had encountered. He had noticed the way that Fudge and Scrimgeour had almost talked down to him and seemed slightly judgmental whenever they said the word muggle.

"As a matter of fact, we are." Kevin answered smugly. It really was nice to know something that the wizards didn't. "And when she heard that I was meeting with you, she insisted that you come with"

"So, she knows of us?"

He nodded, but didn't say anything more as the car stopped and they exited the car. Harry was silent as they followed the guards that were escorting them to the meeting room. After going through multiple security scans, they were finally seated and told that Her Majesty would meet them momentarily.

When Harry woke up this morning he had no idea that he would be meeting the Queen. He had figured it would be a quick meeting with the Prime Minister and then back to a life of dodging ministry of magic officials. However, when he arrived he was surprised when he was told that the Prime Minister would meet him by the car.

He was even more surprised when they arrived at Buckingham Palace and the Prime Minister confirmed that they were meeting the Queen. He duly noted the smug grin on the Prime Minister's face when expressed his shock, but focused instead on the awe he felt to meeting the Queen.

He knew that most wizards knew of the Queen but like himself assumed that she was as ignorant as the rest of the world when it came to magic. However, the Prime Minister had not only confirmed that she knew of the magical world but she also knew of him. It only made Harry nervous as he tried to figure out why she would want to meet him.

After they had been seated, Harry tried not to fidget nervously. If he thought he was going into unknown territory with the Prime Minister then he was going to get lost with the Queen herself. What did she know about the magical world? Did her sphere of influence extend that far?

He could tell that the Prime Minister was very much enjoying his discomfort. He kept glancing at Harry fidgeting fingers and a small smirk appeared on his face before he caught himself and forced himself to look professional again. Harry didn't take this offensively. He was sure that there was a very legitimate reason behind it, especially if the only other wizards that he had encounters with is the ministers for magic.

Finally, just as Harry was about to lose his nerve and dissapparate on the spot the doors opened and the announcer announced the queen.

"Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II."

Harry immediately stood and bowed respectfully. He kept an eye on the Prime Minister, wanted to follow his example so as not to offend anyone.

"Rise" Said the Queen, her voice much smoother then Harry thought it would be. As he straightened up, he saw that she was also dressed more casually then he thought she would. Of course living with the Dursley's, he never saw what royalty really dressed like. His only image of royalty were the books that he read growing up which all portrayed royalty dressed in fancy gowns and stiff looking clothes. However, The Queen was dressed in a simple pale pink business skirt and jacket with a white blouse. In fact it looked like a typical outfit that someone who worked in government would wear.

"Prime Minister" She stated regally and then she turned to Harry. "And you are?"

"Harry Potter, representative from the magical world." Harry replied, hoping that he was doing everything right.

She smiled slighty, noticing his nervousness, "Please sit. Have some tea." With that she sat in the chair across from them.

Everything was silent for a moment as they poured the tea and made it to their liking. Finally as they began to settle, the Queen spoke again, "Now, let's cut to the chase, shall we. I have asked to meet you both today because of this" She held up a folder that the Prime Minister recognized as his report on the magical world, "report. I have to say that while I am aware of the magical world and have been given disturbing reports before, never before have I been so appalled by what I have read. Which is why" She turned her eyes directly to Harry "I have asked you to be here. I hope that you can shed some light on the situation in hopes that I will not have to take drastic measures."

She opened the folder and began to shift through the papers, "According to the Prime Minister, the wizarding world just ended a war with a man who has been reigning terror for the past 50+ years. When I got word about it years ago, I was told that everything was under control. So I left it alone. I gained more confidence when I received word nearly," she flipped through a few more papers before finally settling on one, "16 years ago that the war had ended and this 'Lord Voldemort' was destroyed."

Suddenly she peered up at Harry, "Is this true? Was he or was he not destroyed 16 years ago?"

Harry tried winced and chose his words carefully, "It was...believed that he was destroyed."

The Queen raised an eyebrow, "Really because according to the Prime Minister, he was informed that this same man became a threat once again two years ago."

Harry nodded solemnly, "Yes, he was thought to be destroyed but apparently he had taken measures to ensure that he could not die. He actually returned three years ago, however...the Ministry of Magic did not...believe that he had returned until he had shown himself."

The Prime Minister frowned, "What do you mean they didn't 'believe' that he had returned?"

Harry tried not to groan. Of course Fudge would leave out the details and Kingsley would not think to mention it. Once again, Harry was cleaning up the ministry's mess.

With a sigh he began to explain in the most general terms possible, "It was in the late spring of 1995. He used a dark ritual during an event that Hogwarts the Wizarding School was holding. This event effectively held the ministry's attention that no one paid attention to dark magic happening elsewhere. This ritual required the blood of a student who was participating in the event. It was this student that reported that he had returned. However, due to fear and the fact that it was on the word of an underage wizard, the ministry felt that the young wizard's testimony was..." Harry paused, trying not look irritated and disgusted, "unimportant and that the young wizard himself was a lying attention seeking brat."

Kevin frowned. A quick glance at the Queen said she also picked up the irritation in Harry's voice.

"They never investigated the claims of this student?" The Queen asked, appalled. "And when they discovered that he was back...what was done then?"

Harry was silent for a moment trying to control his own temper. This was worse than he thought and what was worse was that he could not defend them when he agreed with the Queen.

"Well," he began slowly trying to shed the best light on the situation, "the way I understand it, new measures were put in place. The Auror department was given a bit more financial freedom. New security policies were put in place at the school. More patrols throughout the more populate places –"

"And what action was taken to protect the muggle world? How did your ministry stop him from attacking my people?" The Queen interrupted sharply.

Harry took a deep breath, silently cursing the wizarding world and Kingsley for putting him in this position, "I –"

"Don't answer that unless you have a very good explanation as to why my citizens have experienced tragedy after tragedy and unexplained circumstances."

Harry kept his mouth shut. He knew that anything he could come up with would not be enough explain anything. Harry knew the truth and that would definitely not quell the Queen anger.

His silence was the only answer the Queen needed. "I am very disappointed in the actions of the wizarding world. Your war with this man has only caused death and destruction and moreover, I was not informed of the severity of it until after it was over. That fact alone shows me that there is more that the wizarding world has to hide. I am calling into question whether the treaty between us should be considered null and void. You have shown that you are nothing more than a danger to my people and according to the Prime Minister –"

"Treaty?" Harry suddenly blurted out. His face turned red as he realized that he had spoken out of turn and quickly bowed his head in apology, but the confusion remained on his face.

The Queen peered at him for a moment, "Yes, the Treaty between our worlds. Created to quell he persecution on both sides –"She stopped as she saw his confusion deepen. "You have, of course heard of the treaty that protects your world from being discovered?"

Harry shook his head trying not to let his confusion turn into terror, "I'm –"He tried to speak but found that his voice would not work properly. He cleared his throat and tried again to speak, "I'm...sorry, you're Majesty, but I...I'm afraid that this is the first I am hearing about it."

The Queen and the Prime Minister were silent in shock. What did he mean he had never heard of it? The Queen sighed and shifted through the file on the wizarding world. Finally she pulled out a very old looking document. Harry could see that unlike the rest of the paper in the file, this one was made of very old parchment paper. Without a word she handed him the paper and told him to read it.

Harry took the parchment with shaking hands, not really sure what to expected but knowing that the implications weren't good.

 ** _Adhibitus Treaty_**

 _From this day hence forth, the people of the magical community of Britain and the people of mundane Britain shall agree to the following terms in their effort to maintain peace and order:_

 _The People of Magical Britain have requested to separate themselves from the world of the mundane and in doing so create their own form of government and eliminating knowledge of their world from the mundane world._

 _I King Richard, representing the entire British government, agree to these term under the following conditions:_

 _\- The magical community will still be maintained under the jurisdiction of the British Monarch and will still follow the laws set out but the current King or Queen. The wizarding community may add their own amendments and by laws but must keep the base laws._

 _\- The magical government must keep Mundane Britain up to date and informed of an bylaws added for the magical community as well as any situation or circumstance that could involve the mundane world_

 _\- The magical government must be made up of all magical creatures as well as maintain mundane representatives. All people, regardless of blood status or race must have a voice._

 _\- The magical world is required to provide and inform a list of any and all mundane born children who are choosing to enter into the magical world._

 _\- The magical government must ensure that all youths learn about the peace between the magical and mundane world whether they are mundane born or wizard born._

 _\- The magical community will make any and all efforts to keep magical dispute and acts of terror out of the mundane world and if it goes beyond their efforts then they must work with the mundane government to bring order._

 _If at any point these terms are not followed, the current monarch will have the ability and to render this contract null and void and the magical world will lose all protective enchantments as well as rights to their own government. They will once again be directly under the British Monarch._

 _In return for following these laws:_

 _\- The magical world will have their own government system, law enforcement, monetary system, education, and communities as long as they keep to the above agreement._

 _\- The magical world will gain protection. By signing this contract they will be protected by the Statue of Secrecy which uses protective enchantments to keep their world hidden from mundane eyes._

 _\- Will gain protection and assistance from the mundane world in the event that the magical world begins to have trouble maintaining civil peace._

 _\- The mundane government will in turn not request or require assistance from the magical world in times of war._

 _If at any point these terms are not followed, the current minister for magic will have the ability to render this contract null and void after providing proof of the mundane governments negligence and the mundane government will lose all knowledge of the magical world and the magical community no longer be bound to the British Monarch._

 _By signing this contract all of magical Britain and the entire mundane British government will be bound by this contract. It will be signed in blood making it unbreakable._

Harry took a shuddering breath as he finished reading the document and looked up. The Queen and the Prime Minister were staring at him curiously. He didn't know what to think or say and there was a strange ringing in his ear that made it hard to think.

"Well," Harry said breathlessly, as his vision began to blur "This isn't good."

With that, his world faded to black.

* * *

 ** _Adhibitus_** means "Peacemaker" in Latin

I am very aware that normal treaty probably look a lot different. However seeing as I do not know exactly what that would look like, I had to make it up.

To be Continued...


	4. A New Plan

Check it out...Things are about to change.

* * *

The most embarrassing thing in the world is fainting in front of the Queen of England. This was Harry's first thought when he awoke from his spot on the floor. The palace attendants helped him up silently handing him water and then quietly informing him that the Queen and Prime Minister had stepped into the next room for a moment.

This just made Harry more nervous. As the pounding in his head began to fade, he couldn't help but glance at the file on the wizarding world that was still sitting on the table. More specifically, he was looking at the Treaty between the people of magical Britain and the royal family. How could such a big thing get overlooked? How did this fail everyone's notice?

However the question that was at the front of his mind was this; what was going to happen now? It was very clear that the magical world had failed in upholding their end of the treaty. It was also just as clear that the muggle government was angry about it and intended to do something about it. Harry couldn't blame them if they decided to expose the wizarding world. The fact that the wizarding world was apparently doing the opposite of the treaty and they were keeping it secret from their citizens did not help the situation.

These thoughts continued to run through his mind making him more and more nervous by the second. No longer was this meeting just a quick chat to satisfy a muggle's curiosity but now it was a fight to keep the people of the wizarding world – the people he just saved – safe. He had to find a way to fix the ministry's problems once again.

His thoughts came to a halt as the door to his right opened to admit the Queen and the Prime Minister. Trying to not let his nervousness show he rose from his seat and quickly bowed low to show his respect. This time, it took a minute for the Queen to acknowledge him.

Finally though, they were once again seated and as much as Harry wanted to begin defending the Ministry of Magic, he found himself silent. He knew that anything he said without permission would only make things worse.

"Mister Potter, are you feeling better?" The Prime Minister asked softly staring at the wizard nervously

Harry nodded slowly, "I apologize. I was...shaken by what I read."

"Yes, that much I can tell." He peered at him intently, making him shift in his seat nervously. Finally when it seemed that the silence would stretch on forever, the Queen spoke up,

"Mister Potter, can you give me any legitimate reason why I should not consider the treaty between our worlds null and void. Now that you have read and are aware of its contents, can you honestly defend it?"

Harry pursed his lips, in slight frustration but answered neutrally. "Your Majesty that only thing I can say is that there is a possibility that the majority of the wizarding world is not aware of the treaty."

"That right there is already more than enough reason for me to expose your world. Did it or did it not say that you were to keep your people informed of the treaty and what it represents?"

Harry bowed his head respectfully as he answered, "It does and as much as I wish I could say that the ministry of magic has been doing their job, I cannot. I can only answer for myself."

"And yet you are meeting with myself and the Prime Minister as if you are the leader of the magical community. Why hasn't your minster made attempts to fix things?

Harry didn't answer. He didn't want to make anything worse than it already was. When he stayed silent, the Prime Minster spoke up.

"Mister Potter, how old are you?" Kevin asked his voice flat and neutral.

Harry was thrown by the question but he answered anyway. "I will be 18 next month, sir"

Kevin nodded slowly, "From my conversations with Minister Shacklebolt, you seem to have a lot of power and influence for one so young. I will confess, when Kingsley talked about you, I almost expected a middle aged power hungry aristocrat. What makes you so special that gives you such power over the Ministry of Magic?"

Harry frowned. He understood what the Prime Minister was asked, just not why he was asking it. "To be perfectly honest Prime Minister, there is absolutely nothing special about me." He grinned wryly "I'm just a kid from Surrey who just happens to have the ability to do magic. The wizarding world may have forgotten that, but it doesn't make it any less true."

"I find that very hard to believe. If only you could have heard the way Kingsley went on about you. I would have thought you were a super hero."

Harry tried not to let the disgust show on his face. He apparently didn't succeed because the Queen let out a short chuckle as she saw his face.

"You must have done something right, Mister Potter." She said. "Regardless, they apparently look up to you as their leader so that it what I am going to do. I know that you might not like it, but I cannot just sit and watch the wizarding world go on like this."

Harry nodded, resigned. "I understand"

"You understand then that once I declare the treaty null and void that your world will lose all protective enchantments that keep you separate from the rest of the world. This also means that all enchantments in your ministry will fail as well. You will be exposed."

Harry's eyes were wide eyed with fear, but nodded. "Your Majesty, will I have time to warn the wizarding world of what is about to happen?"

"I'm sure I can arrange a couple of days delay."

The Prime Minister shook his head as he asked, "Your Majesty. Is there no other option? I can't help but be nervous at how this will affect not just the people of Great Britain but the world. Most other countries keep the existence of magic secret. By exposing the British wizarding community would we not then be exposing magic to the world. Would it not be better to find a less...chaotic solution?"

"If I had another solution, Prime Minister, I would have offered it." The Queen answered briskly.

The Prime Minister nodded respectfully, "Perhaps if I or Mister Potter come up with another solution...?"

Harry couldn't help but feel grateful for the Prime Minister in that moment. While he knew that the politician was not doing it for the wizards benefit, he was still grateful that someone was speaking up.

"I suppose, if this solution is up to par with my expectations and if you can come up with something today."

"Yes Your Majesty. The fact of the matter is that the way the wizarding world has operated thus far is not working. They are self absorbed, ignorant of the outside world, and far too dependent on a 17 year old hero. However, if –"

Harry stopped listening as an idea began to form in his head. Without realizing it he sat up straighter and the pieces began to fall into place in his mind's eye. His movement caught the attention of both the Prime Minister and the Queen causing them to fall silent.

They watched as the young wizards eyes darted back and forth without really seeing what was in front of him. Finally after a moment of silence, he seemed to realize the two pairs of eyes staring at him.

"My apologies Your Majesty, Prime Minster, I was lost in my thoughts." He said nervously as they stared at him in amusement.

"Clearly, Mister Potter." The Queen said with a small smirk. "Would you like to share your thoughts with us?"

It was not a question. So taking a deep breath Harry told them his plan. "Your Majesty. I may have come up with a different solution to this issue. As I said, earlier, I do not think that the majority of the wizard community are aware of the treaty. However, if I were to reveal the treaty to them as well as the consequences for not following the treaty, for their own self-preservation, they may just be willing to change."

"And you speak for everyone, even those that do know of the treaty and have kept it hidden. What would stop them from causing trouble once again? What makes you think that they would suddenly start doing the right thing?"

"Yes ma'am I thought of that. However, I'm sure we can find a way to weed out those who may know of the treaty. Once they are exposed it will be easy to get past them."

"Is it not possible that, the wizarding world will just go back to how things were?"

Harry nodded, "I suppose there is always that possibility, no matter what we do."

"Mister Potter, You are talking about asking an entire country to change its ways. I believe it's going to be harder then you are making it sound."

"Give them an ultimatum." Kevin spoke up. He could see where this plan was going.

Harry and the Queen looked to the Prime Minister curiously. "What do you mean?" Harry asked.

Kevin sighed, "Well, for example, when my son misbehaves, I start counting. He knows that if I reach three and he is not behaving properly, he will face punishment. However, if he starts behaving before I reach three, I let his punishment slide. It helps him to understand that bad behavior is unacceptable, as well as giving him a chance to learn what is bad behavior."

Harry nodded, understand where Kevin was going with this, "We can give them a time limit. If they have not clean up their act by then, then the treaty will be considered null and void and the wizarding world will be exposed."

Kevin shook his head, "It needs to be more then that though. You need to take away something that they really want. Using my son again, as an example; when he doesn't listen to me I either take away his time with his friends, or I take away his telly time."

"So basically you want to treat the Wizarding World like a naughty child." Harry commented slightly amused.

He turned to Harry with a grin, "I guess that's one way to put it." Here Kevin frowned, "Also, I don't know what the economy looks like in the wizarding world, however, I know that I deal with those who have enough money to buy anything they want. They will be the biggest trouble makers."

"I'm afraid that is an area that I have little knowledge in."

Suddenly the Queen gestured to one of the attendants. "Please contact our Gringotts representative and request a meeting with them as soon as possible." The attendant nodded and hurried off to carry out the queens orders.

She turned back to Harry, "Mister Potter, I would be willing to give the wizarding world a 15 year time limit. You would have 15 years to straighten up your act. However, I do worry about if the wizarding world will actually be properly motivated to change. The Prime Minister has expressed that it might be best to take something away from them. What would you recommend?"

Harry thought on this for a moment. He of course, had an idea in mind. Something that would not only be a blow to the wizarding world, but would also give him the freedom he sought. It was risky and he wasn't even sure that it would work but he decided to try it.

"Me." He replied softly. When the Queen gave him a quizzical look he continued to explain. "Your Majesty, the wizarding world loves their hero. They put the most powerful and famous wizard on a pedestal when everything is going well so that when it goes wrong the can take the blame off of themselves and put it on the hero of the century."

Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly to keep his temper, "Currently I am their hero they are looking at. That is why I am here instead of the Minister of Magic. If I take myself off of their pedestal, remove my influence from their world, it may just be enough of a blow for new leaders to step in and do things right. I would just make sure that those leaders are loyal to this plan."

"You are talking about removing yourself from the situation entirely. How exactly do you plan to do that Mister Potter?" The Prime Minister asked

Harry smiled sadly. "By leaving the wizarding world."

The Queen peered at him suspiciously. "You sound like you have been thinking about this for a while."

"I will admit that it is an idea that has been floating around in my mind for a while now. I probably would have left the wizarding world eventually anyway."

"What exactly would you do once you've left the wizarding world?" Kevin asked curiously.

Harry shrugged, "I honestly hadn't thought that far ahead."

Before another word could be said, the door opened and in walked, to Harry's surprise and horror a Goblin whom he recognized to be the Director of Gringotts, Ragnok.

He of course had planned to go to the Goblins to apologize for breaking in. However, with everything else happening he had never actually done it. He knew that there would be consequences for his actions. He only hoped that Director Ragnok would be more open to listening to him with so many witnesses rather than killing him outright.

He could see that Ragnok was not only surprised to see Harry there but slightly irritated as well. Trying defuse the situation before it began, Harry immediately stood to show his respect to the Goblin entering the room. He knew that this was the right thing to do as Ragnok's look of irritation turned into a look of shock.

Most wizards thought themselves above Goblins and so would never stand when one entered the room. That would be like saying that the goblin that entered the room was at a higher position of power.

Ragnok was somewhat surprised when he received the Queen's summons. He had never actually met her personally but had communicated with her a couple of times since he became director. However, it wasn't the queen that grabbed his entrance. It was the wizard that had been on the goblins radar ever since he broke into that vault just a month before. He expected Harry Potter to be as arrogant and pig headed as every other wizard to come through. However as soon as he entered the room, the boy immediately stood and nodded his head in a sign of respect.

It was not this however that caused the Director to stop his thoughts of killing the boy where he stood. Any wizard can go through the motions of respect. However, it was the look of terror, remorse, and resignation on the boy's face that caught his attention.

He had heard many mixed stories about what happened that day. Maybe it was time to hear the wizard's version of things.

Ragnok turned his attention to the Queen as he approached. He bowed respectfully before taking the offered seat.

"Hello Director Ragnok. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I would like to introduce Prime Minister Kevin Fischer." She guestured to the grey haired man sitting opposite of him. Ragnok nodded his head to the man.

"To his left is –"

"— Harry Potter" Ragnok finished turning a glare to him causing the boy to wince and pale considerable. "Yes I have heard all about you. There have been few who can break into a Gringotts vault get away unscathed."

The Queen and Prime Minister raised their eyes in surprise.

"I'm sorry?" Kevin said, "Did you say – "

"Yes." Ragnok replied shortly before the Prime Minster could even finish his question. His eyes never left Harry. "I would very much like to know exactly why he choose to break into one of our vaults and what exactly was taken. You see, as much as I try to find out, no one seems to know what was taken. Our inventory of the vault showed that everything was accounted for despite the witness reports that something was taken."

Everyone turned to look at Harry who sighed acceptingly, "Director Ragnok, please hear me when I say that I am terribly sorry that I had to break into the vault. If I saw any other option I would have taken it. The reason for it was because hidden in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange was an object that helped bring about the end of the war." He looked directly into the goblin's eyes. "I am sorry for breaking in but I am not sorry for what I took."

"What was the object that you took and how exactly did it end the war?"

Harry was silent for a moment as he debated. There was still not many who knew about the Horcruxes. Dumbledore had said to keep everything quiet but not that everything was over, Harry saw no reason to keep it quiet.

So, Harry simply said, "It was the cup of Helga Hufflepuff and it was one of Voldemort's Horcruxs."

Ragnok snarled at the word 'Horcrux' "I think I would have known if a foul object like that was in my bank. We allow many dark objects to be stored in the vaults but that is one that I would never allow –"

"Which is why it was probably put there under the radar without your knowledge or permission. I suspect that Voldemort instructed Bellatrix to make sure that no one, not even the goblins knew it was there." Harry interrupted boldly.

Rognok fell silent still glaring at the Boy-Who-Lived. As much as he wanted to believe that the boy was lying through his teeth, the look in his eyes told another story. Ragnok could tell that he was confident of the fact that the object he took was a horcrux. Almost too confident. Suddenly, the rest of Harry's words rang in his ears.

"What do you mean by 'one' of his horcruxes?" Ragnok asked curiously.

Harry sighed tiredly, "We discovered that he had made 7 of them." He ignored the look on horror on the goblins face. "A ring and a locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin, the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, Rowean Ravenclaw's diadem, a diary which I destroyed in my second year at Hogwarts and his snake. It was only after those were destroyed that I was able to actually kill him."

"I see." Ragnok said thoughtfully. He was about to ask another question but the Queen spoke up first.

"That was only six." She stated looking at Harry.

Harry tried not to wince but he was not successful. He knew that he should have just said that there were six of them. Ragnok and the Prime Minister peered at him waiting for his response.

As much as Harry wanted to lie he was not ready to deal with the consequences of lying to the queen of England. So with a resigned sigh, he looked away and said, "The seventh hoxcrux was me."

Everyone was silent for a moment so Harry continued, "I figured it out in the middle of the Battle of Hogwarts. I have always had a connection with him but I never realized why."

Ragnok gave him a fierce look and tensed up as if he realized something, "That's impossible the only way to destroy a horcrux is to destroy the container beyond repair. The only way the horcrux inside you could be destroyed is if you died." He peered at Harry suspiciously "And yet here you are."

Harry smiled grimly. "Another stroke of luck, I assure you. The truth is that I did die, killed by Voldemort himself. However, because of the horcrux the killing curse did not work the way it was supposed to, so I was able to return to the land of the living."

The Queen and Prime Minister look horrified as Harry explained how he had come back from the dead. Ragnok however, had a look of understanding on his face and a glint in his eye that made Harry nervous.

"I see." And he truly did. The killing curse was meant to separate the soul from the body. However if there were two souls there is the possibility that it would only take one soul leaving the other in the body. He turned away from the Boy-Who-Lived without another word. He had made his decision.

"Your Majesty" Ragnok said formally, "I apologise for getting distracted. You asked me to be here for what I assume was a specific reason. How can Gringotts help you today?"

The Queen, thrown by the sudden change in conversation, paused for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. "Yes Director. We have been discussing the future of the wizarding world." She then proceeded to explain the previous discussion and their question requarding the current economy in the wizarding world.

"Well," Ragnok said thoughtfully. He glanced at Harry briefly before turning his attention back to the Queen. "Obviously, because of the war, the exchange of money has been slightly off. For the past year the only money spent have been from the Dark Lords side. Ever since his defeat, the ministry has just been pulling money from wherever they can to re build everything."

"How would you rate the overall health of the economy?"

"not well, Your Majesty" Ragnonk replied instantly, "The ministry is making it look good on paper now, but if their keep going the direction that they are going, the only people actually making money will be those who work in the Ministry itself."

"Director," Kevin spoke up "Our goal is to put the economy on a tight leash to try and regulate the flow of money. That is the best way to begin to change the way things are run. Would you have any suggestions on how to best handle this situation."

Ragnok was though for a moment and every once in a while, he would glance at Harry. Finally he said, "I may have an idea."

He leaned forward, folding his arms across his lap. "You see, about 50% of the currency in the wizarding world is split between some of the oldest and richest family's in Great Britain. About 80% of those family's were supporters of the Dark Lord. Once those supporters are convicted, the ministry will most likely try to seize their finances to be used for ministry purposes. Seeing as that is what we want to avoid, there might be a way to have those finances taken out of the ministries way."

"How so?" Kevin asked curiously.

Ragnok looked at Harry again, making him shift nervously. "Well you see because his supports connected themselves with him magically their accounts are also connected to him as well. The one who defeated the Dark Lord would have the right to claim Right of Conquest and in doing so claim anything and everything connected to him."

Harry frowned slightly not really liking the idea but understanding the purpose of it. "So you want me to claim Right of Conquest and hold 50% of the wizarding worlds money hostage?"

Ragnok grinned, "That's one way to put it. Of course, if you were to stay in the wizarding world you could manage and begin putting that money back into circulation."

Harry thought for a moment, "I don't think that is a good idea." He then looked the goblin right in the eye, "But could I appoint someone else to it."

"I wouldn't recommend it. Who ever you appointed would have full access to your vaults."

"It would be in Gringotts best interest for that money to be invested wisely."

Ragnok frowned, not understanding where Harry was going with this. "Of course. If wizarding money is in proper circulation then the bank prospers."

"So what if I appointed a goblin?"

This caused Ragnok to look on in shock. Never had any wizard giving a goblin full access to their account or given them permission to use those funds and invest them.

"I mean, if I am being honest, I don't know anything about managing finances and I would probably need help at some point." Harry admitted, "Who better to help me then the ones keeping it safe."

"I think that sounds like a very good idea." Kevin said leaning forward. "Your Majesty, what do you think?"

The Queen was silent for a moment with a pensive look on her face. Finally after a very tense minute, she looked up with a small smile on her face.

"I think that this is very possible."

* * *

TBC...


	5. Taking Action

Hogwarts was silent as dusk began to settle over the grounds. As the sun sunk behind the hills in the distance, the inhabitants of the castle found themselves drifting inside to end the day. The builders and cleaners that were working to bring the castle back to its former glory took a sigh of relief as they packed up to go home for the night. Those staying in the castle finished up their dinners and began to congregate into their respected rooms. However despite the calmness of nature around them, there was a quiet nervousness over a small but select group of people.

This group of people were still sitting in the Great Hall discussing the possibilities of where their hero, Harry Potter could be. He had left the castle two days prior to meet with the Muggle Prime Minister and still had yet to return. As his second day being gone began to come to a close, those closest to him began to worry.

Many speculated where he was at. Some felt that the Muggle Prime Minister felt threatened by Harry and had him killed. Others say that no one, especially a silly muggle could defeat Harry Potter and that he was probably just defeated dark wizards on his way home. These speculations of course came from his more adoring fans.

However those he considered friends and family were concerned for other reasons. Ron and Hermione knew that Harry could handle himself in a fight but they were unsure of why he would say away so long unless something was wrong. The Weasleys and the professors had similar thoughts.

The only ones whose speculations were unique were Neville Logbottom, Susan Bones, and Ginny Weasley. Neville and Susan, who Harry had spent much of his time with over the last two weeks, knew that he had been having thoughts of doing something, although they were still unsure as to what. Ginny however, knew from her last conversation with her ex boyfriend knew that he had considered leaving the wizarding world and she was afraid that he had done so.

As the sky continued to darken, Professor McGonagall finally spoke. "Has anyone heard anything from him?"

Everyone shook their heads. Hermione gripped Ron's hand in hers tightly. "Something is wrong. He wouldn't just stay away like this without a reason." She looked to Kingsley. "What happened when you went to the Prime Minister's office?"

"He wasn't there. I even waited there for a few hours and he never showed up." Kingsley replied, his tone thick with concern. He was the one who set up the meeting with the Prime Minister. If something had happened to Harry...

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall sat up straighter. "Someone just entered the wards." She stated simply as she stood and made her way out the door. Kingsley, Ron, Hermione, and Neville followed silently gesturing for everyone else to stay behind.

They arrived at the front doors just as they opened to admit the one person that they were just discussing.

Harry stumbled through the door exhausted from his day. After learning the things he did and working with Ragnok and the Prime Minister to get everything ready, the only thing he wanted to do was go to bed. He had purposely stayed out just past dinner time in the hopes that he wouldn't run into anyone.

Therefore he was surprised and somewhat disappointed when as soon as he walked through the door he was greeted by the relieved shouts of his friends.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as she finally caught sight of him. He supposed that he looked like quite a mess. After the Queen had given her consent to go ahead with the plan she had allowed the Prime Minister and Harry to stay at the Palace to discuss and finalize the details. Unfortunately there was much more detail then they had originally anticipated and so had very little time to rest. He knew that he probably looked very raged and tired and it didn't help that he was tripping over his own feet from lack of sleep.

He stopped just feet from them as they continued to stare at him. He was waiting for one of them to say something. When it appeared that no one was going to speak, he decided to ask, "Hey guys. What's up?"

This caused everyone to gap at him disbelievingly. "What do you mean 'what's up?'." Ron said, "You've been missing all day and you come back and just say 'what's up?'."

Harry frowned, "What do you mean. I was meeting with the Prime Minister this morning –"

"That was yesterday, Harry." Neville stated quietly

Harry's eyes widened as everything began to fall into place. No wonder they were freaking out. He had been meeting with the Prime Minister for nearly two days. With everything going on he hadn't even realized it. It was no wonder he was so tired.

Running a hand through his hair he sighed. "I'm sorry. It really was just a long meeting and I took a bit of time to myself. I didn't even realize how long I had been gone."

"It's quite alright, Harry." Said Kingsley, clapping harry on the shoulder, "did everything go alright?"

Harry peered at Kingsley as if trying to read his mind before he replied, "It was definitely ...interesting meeting." He replied pensively, "But right now I am really tired. So if you don't mind..."

With that Harry began walking toward Gryffindor Tower to where his bed awaited him. Although they all wanted to, no one followed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

Over the next week Harry found himself busier than he ever expected to be. He made many trip back to see the Prime Minister to give him an update on their plan. Every time he came back he was practically interrogated about where he had been and what he was doing. He knew that it was out of concern for the most part, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

There were only three people who actually figured out some of what was happening. Two of them were Neville and Susan who had caught him as he was coming back from the Prime Minister's office one night. Once they caught up to him the walked with him through the halls until they were alone.

"So," Susan started breaking the silence that had fallen over them. In the back of his mind, Harry noted that they were holding hands although it was very subtle. "Things are about to change, aren't they."

Harry's lips quirked slightly. "Well, I guess that's going to be up to the Wizarding World. Things can only change if you allow them to." He answered cripticly.

Neville and Susan glanced at eachother before Neville finally asked, "So, you're really leaving then?"

Harry didn't answer. He wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, although his silence was a good enough answer for the two.

As they finally reached the tower, he turned and gave them both a curious look as he asked, "If you were given an opportunity to change things, would you take it?"

"In a heartbeat." Neville answered immediately. Harry was impressed, but not surprised that Neville didn't need any time to answer. Susan quickly nodded her head in agreement as well.

"I hope that you are serious." Harry said as he walked away, "Because that opportunity may be coming sooner than you think."

He still remember the look of confusion and just a hint of excitement on their faces. He knew that they were a great choice.

The day after as Harry was sneaking out of the castle early that morning, he heard his name being shouted.

"Harry!"

Said boy turned around as he heard his name called. He wanted to turn back and run as soon as he saw who had called him. Ginny Weasley was running down the hall towards him with a fragile but hopeful look on her face. As much as he wanted to run he didn't want to hurt her more then he already had.

She smiled as she reached him causing a farmiliar ache in his chest to flare up. He attempted to smile back but he was sure that it looked more like a wince.

"How are you?" She asked softly as if the slightest harsh word would scare him away.

He nodded, "I'm alright. You?" He asked back politely.

"I'm okay" She shrugged. "I wanted to ask you something." She looked him right in the eye, "You're leaving, aren't you? The wizarding world, I mean?"

He raised his eye brows in shock. This caused the red-head in front of him to laugh.

"Don't look so shocked. Just because everyone else is blind, doesn't mean I am." Harry smiled. He knew this of course. If there was one thing that Ginny was, it was observant.

"Yeah, Ginny, I am." He said quietly. For a moment they were both silent, until Ginny spoke with a choked voice.

"I'll wait for you."

Harry shook his head, "Don't Ginny. Don't do that to yourself. You can't wait around for me to get my life together."

"You still don't get it do you" Said Ginny "You're worth waiting for."

"But I'm not Ginny." Harry said starting to get frustrated. "Why would you wait for someone who can't give you what you need? I know that you think that I can, and maybe in another life, I would, but in this life, I can't be that man."

"But maybe when you come back –"

"I don't know if I'm coming back Ginny!" Harry tried not to shout, but he had a feeling that he didn't succeed. His voice echoed off the broken castle walls.

Ginny looked shocked. "Not coming –"

Harry sighed trying to calm his temper. "Look, I don't know what's going to happen, but right now I don't have any plans on coming back to the wizarding world."

When the red-head didn't say anything, Harry took her gently by her shoulders and turned her so that she was looking him in the eye.

"Ginny," He said softly, "You are beautiful and strong and witty and smart and so many other things that I just don't have time to name them all. You deserve a man who can give you everything you ever dreamed of. You deserve to go after your dreams and have man walking beside you when you need a friend, in front of you when you need a protector and behind you when you need support. If I am leaving, I can't be that for you. But I can assure you that there are plenty of men out there who would love to have the opportunity to be that." He gave her a sly smirk, "I happen to know of one Gryffindor who would probably love another opportunity to be there for you."

By the time Harry had finished speaking Ginny had silent tears running down her face. She slowly nodded to show that she understood.

"You future husband is a lucky man Ginny." Harry said with a sad smile on his face. He let go of her and slowly began to walk backwards away from her. "Don't keep him waiting."

With that Harry turned and walked away from the red-head who watched him sadly with tears running down her face.

* * *

Harry sighed as he let himself relax for the first time in two weeks. Everything was done. He had spent the last week meeting with different leaders from each race that he could think of; the Goblins, of course, plus the vampires, werewolves, house elves, centaurs, Veela's - Of course, he wasn't arrogant enough to think that he knew all magical races in the wizarding world. He would make sure to have someone in charge who could continue to integrate leaders from different races as they came up.

He and the Prime Minister had been working tirelessly to prepare for informing the wizarding world of what was to come. It was easy enough to get a spot during the wizardgoment session that was to happen this upcoming Friday. Apparently everyone was curious as to what the Prime Minister had wanted to speak to Harry about.

He had also been working with Ragnok to get the finiancial side of things set up. Harry was quite shocked to find that even without claiming a Right of Conquest he was still one of the richest wizards in wizarding Britan. Once he found out the conversion rate of Galleons to pounds he nearly had a heart attack. Ragnok politely informed him that at a three-to-one ratio he was the richest man in the UK.

During this meeting he made sure that the families who would be affected by him claiming the Right of Conquest would be taken care of. One example was the Malfoy family. It was very clear that, while Lucius was clearly still in the midset of a Death Eater, Narcissa and Draco had learned their lesson and had begun to show a change in attitude. When Harry claimed the Right of Conquest against Voldemort and his Death Eater, it completely took the fortunes of many pureblood family including the Malfoy's. That was when Harry decided to make sure that while the majority of the fortune would be frozen, some would still be able to be accessed by the Malfoy's. Of course they would have to go through the goblins to do it but at least it was available.

Once all the paperwork had been finished, Ragnok had set him up with any and all ID's and paperwork that he would need in the muggle world. They also provided him with the bank that they would transfer his funds periodically to so that he wouldn't have to enter the wizarding world to deal with his finances. Through this bank he would be able to make purchases in the muggle world without a problem.

Following his meeting with Gringotts, Harry had contacted Andromeda Tonks. While he wanted to be there for his godson, he didn't want to be there as savior of the wizarding world. He did however make sure to tell her how to get a hold of him if Teddy every needed him. He planned of course, to send letters to Teddy if he wanted it, but for now he felt that they would both be fine without him.

Harry let out a great sigh as the memories from the last two weeks washed over him. He allowed himself to callapse on the bed and close his eyes. Maybe he could catch a couple hours of sleep...

He was about to fall asleep when the door to the dorm burst open and Dean stumbled into the room. Harry sat up quickly, thinking that the other boy was injured. However, those thought quickly left his mind as he noticed the silly grin on the boy's face.

Harry just smile and cocked his head to the side, "Something good, I hope"

Dean jerked himself out of his thoughts as he realized that he wasn't alone in the room. When he saw Harry his grin faded slightly and he made his way to his bed nodding the affirmative to Harry's question.

Both boys laid quietly on the bed. He first Harry was fully prepared to go to sleep, but then he felt Dean's stare into the side of his head. Finally not being able to take the sudden tension, he turned to look at the dark-skinned boy.

Dean was just frowning at him. While he didn't look angry, he also didn't look happy.

Harry just sat up and raised an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"Ginny just asked me out." He said, still staring, "Well actually she asked me to come to dinner at her house tomorrow night...as her boyfriend."

Harry chuckled as he realized just why Dean was staring at him. "Congratulations mate. I'm happy for you both." And he was, despite the slight pang in his chest. While he had made his decision about Ginny, it still hurt that he couldn't be the one with her.

Dean looked more troubled, "Be honest with me" he said seriously, "Are you two really done? Or is she going to leave me for you again?"

Harry smiled sadly. "No, Dean. If she leaves you, it won't be for me. We're done."

For a moment, Dean didn't look convinced, but when he noticed that the Boy-Who-Lived looked serious, he nodded slowly, "Good, cause I'm not letting her go this time."

Harry's smile grew, "Good"

At that moment, the object of their conversation walked into the room. Ginny burst in with a smile on her face. When she caught sight of the two boy's in the room, she grew concerned.

"Harry, please tell me that he didn't corner you and interrogate you?" She asked looking between them.

"Just a little bit. Probably not as bad as your brothers are going to interrogate him." Harry said still grinning.

Dean looked slightly sick at the thought as Ginny threw a nearby pillow at Harry. "Stop! That's not even funny."

She turned to her boyfriend, "Dean don't even worry about it. Their already used to you anyway. I doubt that they will do anything."

Dean didn't look convinced, but nodded anyway. Ginny turned back to her ex-boyfriend.

"Hey Harry are you coming to dinner at the Burrow tomorrow night?"

His smile faded a bit. This was the first time he was hearing about it so he didn't figure that he was invited. The thought made him sad but he understood. They Weasley's didn't know that he and Ginny were on better terms so they probably wouldn't think to invite him.

He shook his head at the red-head. "I don't think so. This is the first time I have heard about it."

Ginny looked shocked, "Ron didn't tell you. Mum wanted everyone there. Hermione is going to be there."

Harry winced. Clearly she didn't realize that her family had been keeping their distance for her sake. "Honestly, I haven't really seen Ron or Hermione for the last couple of weeks. I've been kind of busy."

"Yeah, we've noticed." Dean said, looking at him suspiciously.

Ginny slapped him on the arm to stop him from commenting. She had her suspicions on what Harry had been busy with and she was smart enough to know that he wouldn't want to talk about it.

"Well, then I am officially inviting you. I know that everyone will want to see you." The 'before you leave' went unsaid, but Harry knew that she was thinking it.

Harry smiled, trying not to let the sadness show through, "Thanks Ginny. I have a couple of meeting tomorrow but I'll do my best to be there."

She smiled back, seeing right through his mask. "Good, you better be. 7:00"

* * *

As Thursday dawned, everything seemed peaceful. Dispite the grounds at Hogwarts being riddled with destruction and the grounds being torn to pieces, nature it seemed felt that it was safe enough to resume normal life. Birds twittered happily as they flew from tree to tree carefully avoiding the womping willow. A gentle breeze blew through the grounds gently caressing the faces of witches and wizards as they got started on their day. Workers continued to do cleanup around the grounds. Those who fought in the final battle wandered the castle trying to forget the images in their head from the battle.

In Gryffindor tower, Neville Logbottom had just finished getting ready for the day. He had plans to meet up with Susan and...well, he didn't exactly know. Since the battle Susan and Neville had spent a lot of time together but they had never actually talked about what their relationship was.

Neville shook his head with a sigh. He knew that he liked Susan and he wanted to date her and see where it led. But there was a part of him, the part that he had worked so hard to get rid of so that he could be more confident, wondered if she would even be interested. He didn't think that he was good enough for her. What if she said no and just wanted to be friends.

It was these questions that stopped him from actually asking the red-head out. Plus with everything else going on he didn't want to seem insensitive to what was going on around them.

He shook his head once again as he refocused and began making his way down to the Great Hall where he had planned to meet Susan the day before. When he reached the common room, he had to stop in his tracks as he took in the sight of the Boy-Who-Lived pacing anxiously in front of the fireplace.

Neville couldn't help but feel just a stab of pity for his fellow Gryffindor. Despite everything he had been through, people were still looking to him to run save them. Even though the war was over, Harry was still fighting for the people of the wizarding world. What's even worse is that there are few that are willing to see just what it was doing to him.

People didn't realize that they never gave him a chance to even rest and take care of himself. Neville had figured it out when the Minister of Magic would show up and Harry would always conveniently disappear.

Neville knew that because of his break up with Ginny (gossip still traveled fast through the walls of Hogwarts even though school wasn't in session) the Weasley's were keeping a distance until things died down. Unfortunately for Harry this also meant Ron and Hermione.

Since then, Neville had made it his personal mission to be the friend that Harry needed. Susan had seen what he was doing and had gladly joined in helping Harry to escape from crazy ministry officials and generally just have fun.

With that said, it always killed him when he would find Harry in moods like he was in now. Ever since he had come back from his two day meeting (Neville still didn't understand how that had happened) with the Muggle Prime Minister, Harry had slipped into these edgy like states more and more frequently.

"Harry?" Neville finally asked quietly successfully stopping said boy in his tracks. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Harry stared at Neville for a moment as if he had trouble comprehending who he was seeing. He looked terrible. Neville could tell that, unlike other survivers in the castle, Harry had yet to gain back any of the weight he had lost while he was on the run. He had faint shadows under his eyes, showing that he probably didn't sleep last night. His hair was messier than it usually was which was saying something, since he had the famous Potter hair.

Suddenly a grin came over his face that nearly changed his whole appearance, so much so, that he suspected that Harry used a glamour charm. In fact if Neville hadn't observed him before hand he probably wouldn't have even noticed.

"Neville!" Harry said more joyful then Neville had seen him in a long time. "Just the man I was hoping to see."

Neville raised an eyebrow quizzically as Harry gripped him in a one arm hug and began leading him out of the common room.

"Okay..." Neville replied still confused. "What's up?"

"Not here." Harry said cryptically. "Where is Susan? She needs to be here for this too."

"Well, she was supposed to meet me at the Great Hall – Hey! Harry!" Neville exclaimed as Harry let go of his arm and took off down the hall.

'Damn he's fast' thought Neville as he chased after the Boy-Who-Lived. As they descended the stairs to the Great Hall, he could see Susan waiting by the door just like they had planned. Her eyes widened as she saw the two boys headed her direction.

"What is going on?" She asked as they came to a stop in front of her. Neville looked raged and out of breath from running while Harry was nearly bouncing with energy.

"I need you both to come with me. I have to ask you something" Harry stated before walking away and gesturing for them to follow.

Eventually he turned and entered a classroom. They quickly entered in after him and watched as he quickly put up so many locking charms and listening wards that Susan began to worry about what exactly he was about to tell them.

As he finished the last charm, he said, "Remember when you both said that you would take steps to change the wizarding world if you could." He turned around looking them both in the eye and waiting for them to answer.

Both Neville and Susan nodded slowly.

At their nod, Harry gave a smirk that would have put Draco Malfoy to shame.

"Good." He said pulling two thick envelopes out of a small leather bag that they just noticed that he was carrying and handed it to them, "Here is your chance."

* * *

Harry couldn't help the great sigh that escaped him as he entered through Hogwarts gates. He was almost done. He had just one more letter to deliver and then he just had to be ready for the Wizagomet meeting tomorrow. After that he would be free...

He shook his head slightly. He couldn't get a head of himself and lose focus. Delivering the last letter would be the hardest. Checking his watch he saw that it was almost 7:00 and he still needed to change. With a deep breath he took off at a jog toward Gryffindor Tower.

Nearly 20 minutes later he was freshly showered changed and had everything packed and ready to go. He knew that he wouldn't be able to come back to Hogwarts after tonight. He figured that it would be easiest to get a room at a hotel for the next week or so until everything settled down.

Shrinking his things wandlessly, he stowed them in his pocket and made his way back outside to the Hogwarts gates.

However before he even got to the front doors he was stopped by the one person that he was hoping to avoid. He had left a letter on her desk and had hoped that she wouldn't read it until tomorrow. By the look on her face it seemed that she had been in her office late tonight and had read it.

"Hello Professor McGonagall." He said quietly stopping just feet from her.

She didn't say anything but rather continued to stare at him, arms crossed and with an expression that he had rarely seen on her.

Grief

With a sigh, Harry continued, "I'm guessing you got my letter."

"That would be correct, Potter." She said, voice cracking with emotion and yet she still sounded stern

Harry didn't know what else to say. The letter had been a simple good-bye and thank you for everything type of letter but now that he was here in front of her he wondered if maybe he should have said more.

"So it's true?" She asked, "You're leaving."

He looked up and almost lost everything in him when he saw the tears in her eyes.

Almost

"Yes." He replied, "I have to. There's nothing left for me here. My life here has always been about Voldemort. Now that he's gone I can't...I'm just..." He trailed off not knowing how explain himself.

McGonagall surprised him by wrapping him in a firm but warm hug. "Its okay, Harry." She whispered, "I don't like it, but I think I understand. Just know that you will always have a place here."

Harry didn't say anything but instead he hugged her back letting her know that he appreciated the offer.

With one last smile at his former teacher, Harry silently walked to the gates of Hogwarts, turning to glance back at the towering castle one last time just outside the wards. Even though it was still being rebuilt it will always be one of the most beautiful sights for him to remember.

With that last look, he turned on the spot and disappeared with a 'POP'

* * *

Harry reappeared just down the road from the Weasley's house, just outside of the wards. As he walked toward the house, he found himself slightly nervous. How would they react? Would they be angry with him? The one that he worried about most was Ron and Hermione. While he was sure that Hermione would at least attempt to understand, he knew that Ron would most likely get angry and would react accordingly.

Before he knew it he had arrived at the front door, but as much as he wanted to go in, he couldn't find it in himself to knock. He could hear laughing and smell Mrs. Weasley's amazing cooking. He knew that if he went in he was going to ruin it. He didn't want to do that.

Just as he was about to turn around and walk away the door swung open and Bill Weasley's face appeared looking somewhat surprised to see Harry. He glanced inside briefly before walking out and closing the door behind him.

"Harry," he said quietly, "What are you doing here? You know that –"

However before he could finish, the door cracked open once again. Harry could see Dean peaking out before whispering to someone behind the door. No more than a second later, Ginny slipped out with Dean following right behind her.

"Bill, I invited him." She said sternly, "He should be here."

Bill looked surprised at his little sister. He then glanced between Harry and Dean

"So you knew about..." he trailed off gesturing to Ginny and her new boyfriend.

Harry just smiled at the older male. "I encouraged it."

Bill looked at his sister suspiciously before glancing at Harry and Dean with a similar expression. Bill had always been able to tell when something was up so it was really no surprise when he said, "So what's really going on."

Ginny sighed at her brother before looking at Harry very seriously. Harry knew as much as she did that if he came in and started revealing everything immediately the rest of the evening would be ruined.

Surprisingly it was Dean who answered. "I am sure that everything will be explained later, but maybe for now we should just head back inside and enjoy the evening. Harry looks like he could use a good meal anyway."

Harry laughed, feeling grateful for his former roommate, "I don't look that bad, do I?"

Ginny snorted, "Please Harry, you look death himself." She looked over him critically. "Yeah, mum is going to freak when she sees you."

Harry winced at the thought of Mrs. Weasley fussing over him. "Maybe I shouldn't –"

"Nonsense," said Bill throwing his arm over Harry's shoulder to stop him from leaving, "If anyone can fatten you up, its mum."

Ginny and Dean smiled and opened the door as Bill ushered Harry in behind them.

"Hey everyone," Ginny said loudly effectively catching everyone's attention. "I invited a surprise for all of you tonight, seeing as you probably haven't seen him in a while."

She immediately stepped out of the way so that everyone could see Harry. In that moment, he was slightly overcome with emotion and he looked at everyone around the room. Ron and Hermione were sitting close together on the couch with Mr. Weasley and Charlie sitting in the chairs next to them. George and Percy were playing chess and Mrs. Weasley and Fluer were standing in the kitchen doorway looking shocked.

For a moment everyone was rendered speechless with Harry's appearance. That is until the boy himself spoke.

"Hi everyone" said Harry slightly horrified as his voice cracked slightly and he felt tears prickling the corners of his eyes.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione was the first to take action. She jumped from her spot next to Ron and ran to her best friend with her boyfriend following behind at just a slightly slower pace.

"Harry!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms around him. She immediately knew that something was wrong when her gripped her back just as hard and buried his face in her shoulder. Ron was able to tell that something was up due to the very subtle (he only noticed because he had seen it before) quiver in his best friend's shoulders. In that moment, even though he had no idea why, he knew what Harry needed. So with that thought, Ron gently wrapped his arms around both of them, glancing at Hermione slightly only to see the same worry in her eyes.

Harry was doing his very best not to lose it right then and there. In that moment he questioned whether what he was doing was the right thing to do. As much as he wanted out of the wizarding world he wasn't sure if it would be worth it to not get to see his best friends again. He realized that in his haste to get away from the fame that the wizarding world threw at him, he had forgotten that he would also lose the things that were most precious to him.

The rest of the Weasley's kept their distance, recognizing that the three friends just needed each other for a moment.

Finally after what seemed like forever, Harry pulled away quickly wiping his hands over his face to rid himself of the few tears that had fallen.

"Sorry, guys." He said, glad that his voice sounded stronger then he felt

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked quietly still concerned.

Harry looked at her again briefly contemplating how to answer. Now that he was getting his bearing again, he remembered why he was here.

"No." he answered honestly with a half chuckle, "But I will be."

Hermione and Ron stared at their best friend for a moment, wondering whether or not to believe him or not. Finally after a moment, Ron smiled while clapping harry on the shoulder.

"Well, I for one am really glad to see you mate."

It wasn't long after that until Harry was being greeted and hugged all around the room. As expected and feared, Mrs. Weasley did not react well to Harry's appearance.

"Harry dear, you are just skin and bones! Come in the kitchen I have some biscuits you can have until dinner."

Harry followed slowly knowing that he wouldn't get away very easily but he allowed himself to be stopped along the way by Mr. Weasley and Charlie.

"Good to see you, Harry!" Mr. Weasley said, "How is everything? Word around the ministry is that you've got something big to announce at the Wizagoment meeting tomorrow. They've practically shut down the ministry so that the department heads can attend!"

Harry twisted his hands nervously at the thought of the meeting. It seemed that the weight of his bag increased as he thought about the envelope lying within it. "Mr. Weasley, I really can't talk about it right now."

"Right, right, of course." He replied backing off of the topic immediately.

The rest of the evening passed to quickly for Harry. Dinner was, as expected amazing and Mrs. Weasley certainly tried her best to fatten him up, convinced that even after his second plate, he still hadn't had enough (his stomach said otherwise). After dinner they retired to the living room. Charlie lit the fireplace and Bill turned on the Wizarding Wireless. Mrs Weasley was passing out drink which consisted of Butterbeer, Firewiskey, and tea. Once everyone was settled, Mr. Weasley coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Well, Weasley's...Harry, Hermione, Dean...Your mother and I want to thank you all for coming tonight. It really means a lot of us to have all of us here." He looked toward Harry, "We were sad about not being able to invite you Harry, but I'm glad that Ginny had other ideas." He smiled thankfully at his daughter. "We have a feeling that the next few years are going to be hard, especially..."

He trailed off with tears in his eyes. Everyone knew what he was trying to say. They knew it would be hard with Fred gone. Surprisingly, it was George who bravely spoke up although his voice cracked with emotion.

"Freddie is still with us dad. Just because we can't see him doesn't mean he's not here." He looked at Harry, "What was it that Sirius told you, Harry?"

Harry smiled. He knew what George was referring to. Harry had shared it with him just days after the final battle.

"'The ones that love us never really leave us. You can always find them in here.'" Harry repeated, smiling as he placing his hand over his heart just like the day that Sirius said it to him.

For a moment everyone was silent as they took a moment to remember those who weren't with them, and yet were still with them.

After a minute, Mr. Weasley spoke again. "You are absolutely right George. Thank you for reminding us." He took a deep breath, "We know that things are going to be hard, but let's remember that we can push through as long as we have each other. As long as we are together, we will be okay."

Everyone was nodding a smiling at the thought. Everyone, that is, except for Harry who was slowly losing control of his emotions again. If it weren't for Bill speaking, Harry probably would have lost it right then and there.

"Fluer and I have some good news." He said, practically jumping with excitement. He looked at the blonde next him who smiled encouragingly, "We're going to have a baby."

Shouts of joy followed this announcement as everyone congratulated the couple. Harry took the opportunity to finish his glass of firewhiskey before he lost his nerve and disappeared on the spot. The burn of the whiskey soothed his nerves so that he could focus.

After a minute everyone calmed down slightly as George got everyone's attention. "I've decided to re open the joke shop. Fred would want me to and Ron said that he's going to help me for a while."

"Oh, George! That's wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley said hugging her son tightly. Everyone in the room know that while she didn't approve of the joke shop, she was just happy that her son wasn't as sad as he had been.

"Oh, but Ron" Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, "What about Hogwarts. They are planning to reopen by September and I heard that those who missed this last years can go back...Maybe you can –"

"Actually mom, Hermione and I are just going to independent study and we'll take our NEWTS in the spring."

"Don't worry, mum, I'm going back to Hogwarts this fall." Ginny said trying to get the attention off of Ron. "I'm hoping that I can get caught up enough to just finish my 7th year strong."

Mrs. Weasley didn't look ready to drop the subject but apparently had realized that Ron wasn't going to change his mind. Changing targets she, to his horror, addressed Harry.

"What about you Harry, dear, surely you are going to do your seventh year."

"Let's be honest," said Dean, "Harry could probably demand any job in the ministry and they would give it to him."

Everyone chuckled, admitting that it was true. Then they all fell silent as the waited for Harry to answer.

However, they grew concerned when Harry didn't say anything. Bill frowned as the feeling he got when Harry first arrived returned. He noticed that Ginny was looking at him sadly and Harry was growing steadily more pale by the second.

"So," said Bill trying to get the Boy-Who-Lived to talk, "What is your plan Harry."

Harry looked up at him and he was startled by the emotion in his green eyes. Harry looked at Ginny briefly who gave him a nod of encouragement.

He took a deep breath and said two words that Bill knew were going to change things in more ways than one.

"I'm leaving"

Silence...and then chaos. Some thought he was joking. Others thought he was sick. However the reaction that concerned him the most were the two who had been with him since the beginning.

Ron and Hermione were both silent, staring at their best friend in shock. Once everyone calmed down, Ron spoke

"You're serious?" his eyes were pleading, hoping that it was a big joke.

Harry let out a great sigh, "Yeah," he looked around at everyone, "But there's more to it that I need to tell you. I need you to just hear me out before you freak out."

"As you all know, two weeks ago, I went to meet with the Muggle Prime Minster. What I didn't tell you guys was that instead of just meeting with me at his office, he took me to meet someone higher than him."

Hermione gasped as she immediately understood, "The Queen!"

Harry smiled, "That's right. Apparently she insisted on meeting with me as well. Let me tell you, she wasn't happy. Tell me, Have you ever heard of the Adhibitus Treaty?"

Most of them shook their heads. Mr. Weasley however, looked confused, "It's a myth, right?"

Harry shook his head, "I assure you that it's not. I've seen it."

"Wait, what's the Adhibitus Treaty?" Bill asked

"Supposedly," his father answered, "It was the treaty that started our ministry today. It supposedly is what separated us from Muggle Britain centuries ago. No one knows exactly what it said cause no one has ever actually seen it."

Everyone turned back to Harry, "As I said, I've seen it personally. In our conversation the queen had mentioned it but when she saw that I was confused she showed it to me."

He reached into his bag and pulled out the copy of the treaty that the Queen had given him. Wordlessly he handed it to Mr. Weasley who began reading it out loud.

Harry watched everyone's faces as they heard the treaty. As soon as Mr. Weasley finished reading, everything was silent for a moment as the horror settled in. Hermione was the first to speak,

"Oh, no..."She whispered, "They have every right to declare it null and void."

"But they can't!" said Bill "We would lose all protective magic. We would be exposed!" He and Fluer clutched each other desperately hoping it wasn't true.

Before anyone else could make their displeasure known, Mr. Weasley's calm voice flittered over them.

"I get the feeling that if they really wanted to do that they would have done it already." He looked up at Harry with a silent question in his eyes.

Harry nodded, "That's right. The Queen is willing to give us another chance seeing as the majority of wizarding Britain doesn't know about the treaty. That's why I was with the Prime Minister for so long. We had to come up with a plan."

"Harry," Hermione said, "There is no way to change all of this in one day. To do what this treaty says we would have to not just change the laws and the way the ministry is run but we would have to change the mindset of a whole country. "

"I know that Hermione and so does Her Majesty." Harry said as he dug in his bag again, "That's why she asked me to get a new system ready. What do you think I've been doing the last two weeks."

Bill shook his head, "It's still not going to work, unless you can bankrupt all of those rich death eater families who will just use their money to buy their way – why are you laughing?"

Harry couldn't help himself. Everything that Kevin had predicted would be issues were the same exact things that the Weasley's were bringing up. If he know any better he would think that the Prime Minister could see the future.

Finally he regained some control, "Oh, the goblins were more than happy to take care of that. I think that wizards like Lucius Malfoy will find that they have no money to buy their way out of prison."

While Bill looked confused, Fluer seemed to understand as she nodded her head knowingly. "You claimed 'Right of Conquest'" She stated

Harry nodded causing Mr. Weasley to gasp. "Harry, that means that you would control at least fifty percent of the wizarding economy."

Harry just shook his head, "Just about. But the Goblins have agreed to slowly put all of the money from the right of conquest back into circulation eventually. While technically it's considered mine, I won't be touching any of it. Between my money and what I inherited from Sirius, I have more than enough to last five lifetimes."

"So how exactly do you plan to change all of wizarding Britain? Like I said its not going to happen overnight." Hermione asked.

"You're right." Harry said as he fiddled with the envelope in his hands, "That's why I'm going to need your help Hermione. You see creating a new system was the easy part. To give everyone equal rights, I just had to get a representative for each race. The hard part was creating equal rights among wizards. I had to put together a team, that I felt would be able to not only handle the politics of the wizarding world but also want to see a change in the wizarding world."

Hermione gaped at her best friend for a moment. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"So you want us to be on your team?" Ron said incredulously. "You're insane."

Harry chuckled, "Actually, I have a different request for you, Ron; for all of you" He said looking around at all of the Weasley's. "I need you to be the support from the outside. Its easy to gain allies inside the government, but to have someone speaking on your behalf outside the ministry, now that's a little more difficult. This team is going to need families to loudly support them at least to start. All I need you to do is live and shed some positivity on the changes that will happen."

He waiting for a moment as they slowly thought it over and began nodded their assent, surprisingly it was Ron who spoke, "You can count on us mate."

Harry then turned to Hermione, "However, if you want it Hermione. I do have a spot on this team for you. I know that it's a lot to ask and so you can say no if you want, but the position is yours if you want it." He handed the envelope to her as he said it.

She slowly took the envelop and opening it, she pulled out the sheet that was on top. It was a thick type of certificate paper with the Queen's seal at the top. She began reading it out loud.

 _Dear Ms. Granger,_

 _As you will now know the wizarding Britain is about to go through major changes that will have a great effect on the future of wizarding Britain. Due to the severity of what has happen, I have charged Mr Harry Potter with carefully selecting a team of witches and wizards to lead this new age._

 _If you are reading this letter, you have been selected to be on this team of world changers. You will be under the direct charge of Prime Minster Kevin Fischer and will be held to a higher standard by the Royal court. Moreover, if you should succeed in meeting or exceeding the expectations laid out by Mr Potter, you will be greatly rewarded._

 _I do look forward to meeting with you and I sincerely hope that you can help bring about the change needed in Wizarding Britain._

For a moment everyone was silent as their wait to see what Hermione would say. As for Hermione she didn't know what to say. She had always talked about the changes that the ministry needed to make. She had even tried to make changes before she realized that she just didn't have the political power to do it.

And now she was not just being offered a job that was practically her dream job. She would finally have the power to actually do something.

She looked up at her best friend who looked slightly nervous.

"It would be a full time job at least at first." Harry said still waiting for her answer, "I don't know how much that Kevin had budgeted, but I do know that he added a salary to the budget if you need it. You can still take your NEWTS and you're not bound to this job forever. Once everything is settled you can do whatever you want."

Hermione finally smiled brightly, "Are you kidding? You are giving me the ability to do what I've always wanted. Of course I'll help you Harry."

Harry smiled sadly, "I'm glad that you want to job Hermione. You'll need to be at the Wizagoment session tomorrow for the reveal." He paused for a moment, "But also remember that it's not me you'll be helping."

She looked confused for a moment before she remembered, "Oh...but –"

"Both Kevin and I felt that it was best if I took myself out of the equation entirely. The wizarding world depends far too much on their heroes. I know that everyone is going to expect me to lead this, which is why I am choosing not to. The wizarding world needs to learn to stand on their own."

"So, when you say you're leaving –"

"I will be going into the muggle world and will have very little, if any, contact with the wizarding world."

"Hang on!" Ron shouted jumping from his chair, "what do you mean no contact."

Harry sighed, "I mean –"

"Shut up, I know what you mean! I'm not going to accept that. You can't just leave us! What about Teddy! What about me and Hermione! You can't just abandon us!"

"Ron!" Harry shouted as he stood and gripped the seething red-head by his shoulders, "I'm sorry. I'm not abandoning you on purpose. But don't you get it? Staying here is killing me. I don't have the strength to deal with it anymore!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I'm not trying to cut ties with you but I have to take a step back for a while. Gringotts will know how to get a hold of me if you absolutely need me. I've already spoken with Andromeda about Teddy and he will be able to reach me if he needs me. Trust me this is just as hard for me as it is for you, but I also feel like it's going to be the best in the end. It's going to be okay."

Ron looked ready to argue again for a moment before he let out a huge breath in defeat. "Fine. But if you die and I hear about it...I'll kill you myself."

Harry chuckled and pulled his first friend into a hug. It wasn't the manliest of hugs but it was just what they needed; to hug like the brothers that they were.

Yes things were going to be hard...but they would be okay in the end.

* * *

TBC...


	6. The Path to Freedom

Here is Chapter six. Again, I have no idea how governments are actually run, but in my world this is how they work. Enjoy

* * *

Friday morning began cloudy and dreary with clear evidence of an approaching storm. Harry sarcastically felt that it fit his mood rather well. However despite his nervousness there was also a sense of excitement. This thing was almost over and then he would be free.

Mrs. Weasley had insisted that Harry stay with them for the night to give them more time with him. It wasn't very hard for Harry to accept. The next morning after breakfast and some teary good-bye's Harry and Hermione left for the ministry. Harry knew that they were a couple of hours early but he wanted to be able to lead his team down to the courtrooms with plenty of time to explain to them how things were going to work. Besides he would also have to escort the Prime Minister and his small team when they arrived. Luckily they were able to use the Weasley's floo to go directly to the atrium.

Stepping out of the fireplace, Harry gently brushed the soot off of his jacket as Hermione did the same as she came out behind him.

The atrium was surprisingly empty. Harry remembered that Mr. Weasley had said something about shutting down a lot of things today to prepare for the wizengoment session.

"Where is everybody?" Hermione asked looking around the atrium.

"Getting ready for the meeting I would assume..." Harry replied, "I'm not going to complain though. This means less staring."

Just then, the fireplace that they came out of flared up. Stepping away quickly, they watched as Susan Bones and then almost immediately after Neville Longbottom stepped out.

"Hey there Harry...Hermione. Are we late?" Neville asked when he saw them there.

Harry smiled, "No, you're actually early. Hermione and I just got here."

Neville smiled at the brown-haired girl. "Welcome to the team Hermione."

"Thanks Neville." Her smile turned to a frown. "Harry I thought that you said that there were going to be four of us..." She trailed off leaving her question unsaid.

Harry tried not to wince "Uh...there is four of you but he is actually going to meet us down there. In fact he is probably already there so we should go."

With that he began walking away toward the lifts to take them down to the court rooms.

Hermione's frown deepened they followed. She turned to pair walking next to her, "Do you know who the last one is."

They both shook their head as Neville answered, "No idea, but you know Harry. He got more and more cryptic after hanging out with Dumbledore for a year. That has yet to change."

"I get the feeling though that he isn't being mysterious just because he can. It's like he's hesitating because he knows that we won't like it." Susan said with a frown of her own marring her pretty features.

"Or he is just trying to wind you two up." Neville responded with a chuckle

Hermione shook her head, "That's not like him especially lately. Why wouldn't he tell us...?"

"I guess the real question is this;" Harry's voice interrupted their thoughts causing them to stop. It was then that they realized that they had followed him into the lift. "Do you trust me?"

There was no hesitation in Neville's answer, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't Harry." Hermione and Susan nodded in agreement.

"You know I trust you Harry." Hermione said in almost a whisper.

Harry gave a small grin as the doors closed and the lift began moving. Since they were the only ones in it and the ministry was practically empty they didn't have to stop at any other levels. Just as the lift came to a stop Harry looked them all in the eye.

"Then I am going to trust that you will work with the last member of your team no matter what our past with him is. He has agreed to do the same."

Confusion came over their face before turning to horror as the lift doors opened. There standing right in front of them with the same smirk and standing proud and tall in his suit jacket was the last person they expected to see that day.

Draco Malfoy

Draco tried his best not to fidget nervously as he waiting in front of the lift of the department of mysteries. Out of all of the places that he thought he would be after the war, this was not one of them. He never would have expected Potter to not only speak up for him at the ministry but he had never expected Potter to give him the opportunity that he did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Draco" His mother said walking behind him as he sat in front of the fireplace in his father's library. He had finally finished going through his father's desk and he had been disgusted at some of the things that he had found; letters between plans for attacks, torture methods, and numerous other unmentionable things that he didn't want to think about. It was clear by now that there was no way Lucius would be getting out of prison although he continues to push both his wife and son to get him pardoned.

At first Draco was open to trying...that is until he began to see just how far his father had gone into the dark arts. Some of the things he found were so vile that Draco began to feel that the death eaters were being let off easy with just an Azkaban sentence.

"Draco" His mother said again, this time effectively drawing his attention towards her. As he glanced at her face he noticed that she looked somewhat worried and yet not fearful as he was used to seeing her.

"What is it?" He asked

"There is someone here to see you. I don't think you will need that." She said hurriedly as he pulled out his wand. Confused he put it back into his holster but was ready to pull it out again. He didn't bother asking who was there to see him. He trusted his mother and if she felt that he needed to know she would have told him.

Once he reached the sitting room he immediately stopped in his tracks and had to resist pulling out his wand again.

'He's not your enemy' he thought to himself trying to calm his nerves

Taking a deep breath he spoke to his guest stiffly yet politely. "Potter"

The Boy-Who-Lived turned to his school nemesis with a small smile on his face. "Malfoy" he responded just slightly less stiff.

"What can I do for you?"

Potter seemed to look straight through him for a moment before speaking. "Tell me something." It was unnerving how intently Potter was looking him in the eyes. "Do you share the same opinions as your father? Do you share the same opinions as Voldemort?"

Draco tried not to flinch as Potter said the Dark Lords name. Shaking off the shudder of fear that flowed through him, he answered with a simple, "No."

Potter nodded, "Tell me your opinion." He didn't have to clarify. Draco knew what he was asking. The whole war was all about blood purity. It wasn't hard to guess.

Draco didn't understand why Potter was asking him these questions. But he also knew that he owed that fact the he wasn't sitting in the cell next to his father to the man in front of him. So answered without question.

"I think that despite what I was taught it's clear that who your family is doesn't define who you are or what you can do. I have reservations about the way mud - muggleborns are brought into our world."

"How do you mean?" Potter asked with a frown

With a sigh, Draco continued, "I think it's a risk for them to go back and forth between two worlds without truly understanding it. They are the biggest risk for our exposure. I'm not saying that they don't deserve to learn magic, but I feel like they are somewhat inferior since they do not come from our world and therefore do not carry our ideals and our traditions."

"While I think that it's a risk for muggleborns to be involved in our world I don't think that eliminating them is going to solve anything. I have had enough killing to last a lifetime. I would rather not see anymore. I never wanted to hurt anyone and I never even wanted to join him I was just -"

Suddenly Draco stopped as he realized that he was saying a lot more than he had planned. He had learned, especially in the last year, to think before he spoke so he knew what he was saying was not necessarily of his own free will.

As soon as he caught the slight smirk on Potter's face he knew that he had something to do with it. He narrowed his eyes at the Gryffindor, "What did you do?"

Potter gave another smirk, "Just a small compulsion charm to get you to actually say what you were thinking. I didn't force those words from your mouth. You just normally wouldn't have said them so openly." Here his smirk changed into an apologetic grin. "Sorry but I needed to know what you really believed. After all, out of the heart the mouth speaks..."

His irritation faded into confusion, "Why?"

Potter's smile faded somewhat, "I have a proposition for you."

Silence, then

"I'm listening" Draco said as he took a seat and gestured for Potter to do the same.

"Well, as you may have heard, I went to see the Prime Minister a few weeks ago..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He could have never guessed what Potter was going to offer him that day. However, he found himself excited at the opportunity to change the world for the better.

He heard the lift approaching and could help the smirk that came over his face as the other three members of the team saw him. Clearly Potter hadn't told them that he would be joining them and it was somewhat satisfying to see them dumbfounded.

However, with a look from said Boy-Who-Lived, Draco straightened his features into a neutral look.

"Good Morning." He said politely extending his hand to Hermione in a sign of a truce. "I look forward to working with you"

Harry couldn't help but pace nervously outside of the room where his team was waiting. Everyone had finally arrived including the Prime Minister and his team. Harry had told them to get to know each other and get ready for their introductions. He tried his best to make it seem like he was confident about everything that was about to happen.

But the truth was that he was nervous and just hoped that everything would work. The Wizegoment meeting had started just over an hour ago and Harry knew that it was almost time for him to go in. Deciding to check on everyone one last time he walked into the room only to stop in surprise as loud laughter greeted him.

He looked around to see that not only was everyone getting along but it also seemed like they were well on their way to becoming friends. Even Draco and Neville were involved in a discussion with one of the men that Kevin had brought with them. It appeared that the man was telling them something about the muggle world according to the mirrored looks of confusion and fascination on their faces.

Harry couldn't help the great sense of pride that overcame him as he look around the room at his team. Every reservation that he had been feeling up to that point slowly drained out of him to be replaced by calm. He felt confident that he had made the right decision.

"You did well." A voice to his left spoke up. He turned to see Kevin standing there also looking at the scene. "I have spoken to most of them and I think that you have a solid team in place here. You should feel proud."

Harry smiled, "I am. Just watching them makes me feel like they will be okay."

"They will be." said Kevin

With a deep breath Harry turned back toward the door and handed a small round device to the Prime Minister.

"This will vibrate when it's time for you to come in. If it's still okay with you, I want to introduce you first and then you can bring in everyone else."

Kevin nodded in agreement. Just as Harry put his hand on the door handle, Kevin gripped his shoulder to get his attention. Harry didn't turn around completely but instead turned his head to show that he was listening.

After a moment of silence, Kevin said, "They don't deserve you Harry. You are a truly amazing young man and I admire your heart, even if it's for a society that doesn't deserve it. Don't ever lose your compassion and I hope that when all of this is over, you find the peace that you have been searching for."

Harry was somewhat shocked at the Prime Minister's words, but he didn't appreciate them any less.

"Thank you." He said with a sad smile, before opening the door and walking out just in time to see someone come out of the courtroom to get him.

Harry had faced down death eaters, giants, giant spiders and snakes and even Lord Voldemort himself. Yet walking into the courtroom to deliver what will probably become the most detrimental news in wizarding history, he would gladly take facing down Voldemort over and over again.

As he entered, his ears were assaulted by the sounds of applause and cheering. This did nothing but make him more uncomfortable.

He finally reached the center of the courtroom where Kingsley was waiting for him.

"Harry," Kingsley said, "Thank you for coming today. I know that you have some things that you want to say but first, we have something for you on behalf of the wizarding world."

It was then that Harry noticed the wizard standing behind Kingsley holding what looked to be a very large plaque made of glass. Kingsley gently grabbed it and turned back to Harry.

"You have fought very hard Harry and we considered awarding you the Order of Merlin first class for your efforts and your sacrifice. However, we felt that it wasn't quite enough. So we have this for you instead."

Harry gently took the plaque and got a good look at it. It was bigger than some of his school text book. It looked to be made of crystal rather than glass. Along the edges was a golden line that seemed to flow with magic. The letters on the plaque looked to be made with the same gold, which read in flowing script.

To Mr. Harry Potter

The Ministry of Magic proudly and sincerely presents

The Merlin Award

For you efforts and sacrifice for the good of Wizarding Britain

And your commitment to protecting its citizens

Harry was shell shocked and suddenly even more nervous than before. Here was the world that had taken him for granted so many times giving him one of the most prestigious awards in their world. He remembered Hermione telling him once that the last time that The Merlin award had been given was to the founders of Hogwarts. What makes it so special is that while the name of the award is the same every time, it is always made specific to the person it was being presented to.

Right then and there, Harry almost walked out to obliviate those waiting in the next room and just forgetting the whole thing. He thought that this part would be easy because these people had never done anything for him.

He took a shaky breath. The room was silent as they waited for him to say something. Gently and slowly he handed the plaque back to Kingsley.

"I'm sorry," said Harry "I can't accept this."

Murmuring broke out among the witches and wizards in the courtroom. They didn't understand how someone could turn down such a prestigious award. Kingsley looked confused and concerned.

"I'm honored and under normal circumstances I would accept it gratefully and thankfully, but -"

He paused not sure how to continue. He shook his head slightly as he decided to just go for it. He cleared his throat and once again, directed a bit of magic to his vocal chords.

"I have something that I need to say and when I am done you may just rethink giving me this award."

The room went silent. Kingsley still looking confused, nodded his head, "Well, then Mr. Potter. The floor is yours." And with that he moved to a seat to the side of the room.

Clearing his throat once more, Harry began the speech that he had practiced for a long time.

"Ladies and Gentleman of the Wizengoment, thank you for allowing me to be here today. I have something very important to share with you.

"As many of you may have heard, a few weeks ago I went to meet with Kevin Fischer, the Muggle Prime Minister. What you don't know is that I also met with The Queen of England that day."

Harry paused to let it sink in. He could see that about half of the people in the room were shocked and the other half was confused. The reason for this of course was because purebloods didn't understand the Queens importance nor did they feel that she had anything to do with the magical world.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Harry paced trying to make eye contact with each person, "During this meeting there was something that was revealed to me; something that was hidden and therefore completely forgotten by the wizarding world."

By now there were more confused looks as well as a few looks of nervousness. Thankfully as of yet, Harry had yet to detect that anyone knew or suspected what he was about to reveal. This was good.

"Tell me," He asked mysteriously, "How many of you have heard of something called the Adhibitus Treaty?"

There was nothing but silence which was not the response that Harry had been expecting. However, he waiting to see if anyone was going to speak up. He wasn't disappointed.

Narcissa Malfoy stood slowly, he beautiful face marred with confusion and just a bit of nervousness. "It's a myth created long ago as an explanation to how the ministry was created."

Many others in the room began nodding their heads in agreement although the majority of the room was still confused as to what it was. Finally another gentleman whose name Harry did not know, stood

"I'm sorry but I have never heard of this treaty and I can tell that I am not the only one. What is it?"

"Supposedly," said a man who Harry recognized as Jonathan Greengrass, "It is a treaty that was made between Wizarding Britain and Muggle Britain. It's what allows us, unlike other countries, to have our own government rather than being governed by Muggles. However, just like Lady Malfoy has said, It's just a myth -"

"Well if it is just a myth," Said another witch, "then why is Mr. Potter bringing it up?"

At this point every turned back to Harry who had returned to the center of the room and was waiting patiently. After another moment of silence during which Harry was making sure that everyone was listening, he finally let out a great sigh and said, "I assure you that it is not a myth."

Harry then proceeded to explain what had happened when he met the queen and how the treaty came up. Pulling out a copy of the treaty, he began to read it out loud just like what was done at the Weasley's.

When he read the part of the treaty about the consequences of not following their part of the agreement, the room erupted in shouts of anger and horror. He could hear people insisting that they couldn't do it and that they needed their protection. A couple of witches and wizards began trying to run out the doors only to find that they had been locked. Some tried to use emergency portkeys only to find that even those were not working.

Kingsley had paled dramatically and began making his way over to Harry who had not moved from his spot in the center of the room.

"Harry," Kingsley said, sounding slightly hurt, "What are you doing? Why didn't you tell me about this? We could have found a different way to handle this."

"I'm sorry Kingsley," Harry replied, still watching the chaos around him. "I had to make a decision -"

"But you could have told me about it." He interrupted, "I am supposed to be leading wizarding Britain but I can't do that if I don't know what's going on. I even tried to ask you what happened and you avoided me!"

"Honestly, Kingsley, the Queen didn't want anyone else involved -"

"You still could have said something! Instead you are causing panic and now the wizarding world has no warning as to what is about to happen! You knew about this and yet you did nothing!"

Now Harry was getting irritated. His eyes turned cold as he turn to look at the older man. In that moment, Kingsley was reminded of why Voldemort saw Harry as a threat.

"First of all," Harry said, his voice icy and quiet but full of power. "I didn't ask to be involved in this. You and the rest of the wizarding world put me here. Second," He pointed a finger at the older man in front of him, "Don't you dare presume that I have done nothing. You have no idea what I have been through the past few weeks, trying to protect you and your precious ministry."

Kingsley was silent. He didn't dare speak with Harry's finger pointed in his face and cold green eyes focused on him.

Harry took a breath trying to get a hold of his temper. "Look, if I had really done nothing then I wouldn't even be here telling you about how we can fix it."

Kingsley frowned, "So they haven't -"

"If they had, then don't you think we would have noticed that our protections were gone?"

The minster stayed silent for a moment before raising his wand to his throat without another word. The next time he spoke his voice was loud enough to be heard over the shouting.

"Enough! Everyone return to your seats! Now!"

After a couple of minutes of grumbling and terrified whispers, everyone was back in their seat twitching nervously. Finally Kingsley spoke again,

"Now, Mr. Potter has more to tell us, and I for one am willing to hear him out. As he pointed out to me, if The Queen had voided the treaty we would have noticed that our protections were gone. Since they are still intact, I would assume that there is more that we can do."

Kingsley then turned back to Harry, though this time he did not take his seat, but rather stayed right next to Harry.

"It is true that Her Majesty wanted to void the treaty. However, when the Prime Minister and I presented her with another option she was willing to give us a chance to make it right."

Harry began pacing again as he continued his explanation, "Her Majesty is willing to give you 15 years to make a change, during which time she and the Prime Minister will be following your progress very closely. The reason she is allowing this is because of the plan that the Prime Minister and I came up with. The only way Her Majesty is willing to give you that time to fix things is if you follow this plan.

"Clearly the way the ministry has been running thing thus far has not only been against the treaty but it has caused a lot of problems. If you want to fix this you are going to have to be willing to make some changes. The question is are you up for it? Or shall I tell her Majesty to forget it?

Silence; This would be the moment of truth. Were they willing to make a change or were they going to kill him where he stood for even suggesting it.

A wizard who Harry recognized as a man named Richard Walsh stood. He looked around for a moment at the other witches and wizards in the room.

"I have a wife, two children and one more on the way." He said, his voice quiet, but strong. "We were lucky during the war seeing as my wife is muggleborn. I just want my children to be safe and protected. If this means that I need to change my perspective on things then I am certainly willing to try."

He said the last part looking directly at Harry who gave him a small nod and smile. The room went silent once more, but only for a moment. Soon after Richard sat down, Jonathan Greengrass stood once more.

"I am not opposed to change Mr. Potter. However, the amount of time it would take to put a new system in place and then actually making that change happen will take a lot more than I think you know."

There was a small mummer of agreement throughout the room. Harry couldn't help but smile at this; it meant that they were willing.

"I do understand which is why I have already started the process for you. This has already been approved by her Majesty and the Prime Minister."

Harry stopped for a moment to see if anybody would object. Surprisingly, many seemed to lean forward in anticipation.

"From now on, the wizengoment will no longer be making the final decision on any laws or decrees in the ministry or wizarding Britain. In accordance with the treaty, a new committee will be put in place which will have a mix of magical creatures, witches, wizards, and muggles to ensure that everyone is taken into consideration. This committee will have the final say on all matters in wizarding Britain."

The shock in the air was almost tangible. However, before anyone had a chance to speak up, Harry continued, "During the first year, they will be taking a deep inventory of the ministry. Once they have an idea of what areas need improvement and how they can improve it, changes will begin being implemented. That is where you come in."

Here, he looked at each witch and wizard directly in the eye. "If you truly want to see change, you need to back them up. All of you are very prominent members of this society. If others see you willing to change then they will be open to that change as well."

"So it is my understanding," said Jonathan, "that you have already chosen who is going to be on this committee?"

"I have."

"And how exactly are they qualified to lead us. What makes them a better choice than those of us who have been doing it already?"

"Simple." Harry replied, not missing a beat, "They have a vision for change. They have a desire and a drive to make that vision happen. Moreover, they will have a fresh perspective on the way things are run here."

He paused. When there was no more question he continued with a single question.

"Would you like to meet them?"

Rather than waiting for the shock to fade, Harry walked over to the door where he had entered from. He could feel the room tense as he opened it to reveal the man standing behind it.

Turning and walking back to the center of the room this time with the man following him he spoke

"First of all, I want to introduce to you the man who has helped me through every step of this process and he will continue to be part of this process from this point forward. So, I would like to formally introduce, Prime Minister Kevin Fischer."

Scattered and hesitant applause filled the silence. Kevin stepped forward,

"Thank you." His voiced echoed in the once again quiet room. "I know that this has probably been very difficult for you and so I will get right to it." He cleared his throat.

"Officially I will be representing the Mundane government in the committee that Harry spoke to you about. Unofficially I will be monitoring your progress and reporting it directly to her Majesty. I have no doubt that I will be able to give good reports.

"Also on this committee will be a few of the magical creature that have direct influence in the wizarding world..."

Harry allowed himself to tune out the Prime Minister as he began introducing Ragnok who would be the Goblin representative. Instead he took the opportunity to watch the witches and wizards in the room. It certainly pleased that that they were all paying very close attention to what Kevin was saying. Some even seemed a bit excited.

He knew that the ones who were going to be difficult to work with would be the purebloods and moreover the families that would be considered 'dark'.

One of the things he had learned from Draco is that many of the "dark" families in the wizarding world were only considered so because they still practiced magic that the ministry had put a tight leash on, such as rituals and blood magic. While, yes, some of those magics were not pure or good, not all of them were evil. Some of them were very beneficial such as preventing or healing cancer or other illnesses. But because it was banned or regulated by the ministry it was considered dark.

The thing was that most darker families embodied the old traditions of the wizarding world; the traditions that were slowly fading away due to the influx of muggleborns into their world. Draco had explained to him how that was the reason that many dark families only showed muggleborns disdain. They felt that muggleborns wanted to replace their traditions and customs.

He could see just how true it was as he looked at the known "dark" families. Jonathan Greengrass looked especially upset. Many times he looked like the wanted to interrupt but held himself back with great restraint. Harry could only imagine what was going through his mind.

There was a part of him that was concerned and wanted to help in any way that he could. However, that was much smaller than the part of him that said that after today it wouldn't be his problem. As much as he loved the magical world and magic in general, he was so ready for a break; for something new and exciting. He wanted to be able to build a name for himself rather than being given a name that he had to build himself to.

Maybe he would continue his muggle education when this was all over. If there was anything that he really felt that he missed out on, it was learning. Hogwarts was great but before that he had enjoyed reading and he had excelled in maths and science. He never got the chance to continue growing.

As his thoughts continued to wander, Harry missed when Kevin began speaking to him.

" -ry? Harry!"

With a slight jerk, said boy put his focus back on the man in front of him. Kevin was frowning at him looking a bit concerned.

"Sorry," Harry said, with a shake of his head.

"Quite alright " said Kevin still looking concerned. "I was just suggested that perhaps you would like to finish out."

Taking a look around, Harry could see that the Prime Minister had already introduced the majority of the committee with the exception of the wizard representatives.

Harry nodded, not sure why the Prime Minister wanted him to finish, but trusting him anyway.

"I know what some of you are thinking." He said looking around the room, "What about us? Who is going to represent the wizarding side of things?" he flashed them a smile, "Am I right?"

There were nods all around the room. "Don't worry I think that you will be well represented. However, before I introduce them, I want to preface it with this; they may be young and they may not look qualified on paper, but they have been very affected by the war and the way the wizarding world has been run thus far. I believe that is why they have such a vision and passion for change."

"First up, is Miss Hermione Granger" He waited a moment as Hermione walked into the room.

"Now, I am sure that some of you may have been expecting this, knowing my relationship with Hermione. However, let set a few things straight."

He gently nudged Hermione in front of him, "Hermione truly is the smartest witch I have ever met. All of the things that you say I am great for doing, I could have never done without this woman standing in front of me. I can't tell you how many times she got me out of trouble.

"Hermione is not only smart but she is very capable. She has so many good ideas and she knows how to make them happen. If you don't believe me, just wait." He smiled at his friend brightly, feeling excited for her, "She'll prove it to you."

Turning his attention back to the captivated audience in front of him, he continued. "Hermione will be representing the Muggleborn population of the wizarding world. Being Muggleborn herself she will understand the hardships that come with entering into a whole new world and not knowing what to expect."

"Next I would like to introduce Ms Susan Bones." Once again he waited until the redhead stood next to him.

"I'm afraid that I have to confess that I don't know Susan as well as I know Hermione," He started with a chuckle, relieved when others laughed with him. "However, I do know that Susan is a wonderful representative of a Hufflepuff. She has shown what loyalty and hard work truly looks like. But one thing I really love about Susan is she doesn't restrict herself to just that. She is also ambitions like her aunt, who I know many of you were close with." He paused for a moment to honor the late Director, "Not only that but she allows herself to be brave as well as intelligent. Susan will be representing the half-blood population of the wizarding world. By half-blood, I mean those who have roots in both the wizarding world as well as the muggle world. The Bones family has always had roots in both worlds and so Susan will understand how best to help half-blood's."

"Next up is Neville Longbottom." As Neville entered, Harry was proud at the confidence that he showed. He strode purposely toward Harry with his head held high and a smile on his face. "Neville is, in my opinion, one of the true heroes of this last war. While I was on the run during the last year, Neville was the one who took a stand against the death eaters at Hogwarts. When the students were threatened, he choose to stand up and make a change. In my conversations with him the last few weeks, I have learned more about the wizarding world that I have in my 7 years of experience here. Neville will be representing part," Here he made direct eye contact with Jonathan Greengrass who had been getting more and more agitated, "Just part, of the pureblood population."

He gave a pause to direct his attention directly to the group he knew to be associated with the darker families. As he looked at them he could see that they were just as upset and agitated as Jonathan Greengrass was. He gave them a smile trying to show that he was on their side too.

"You would have to be completely oblivious to not see the great line between purebloods that are 'light'" He flexed the first two fingers on each hand to represent quotes. "and those who are 'dark'. However, it was explained to me what the difference is between the two groups. Once I understood that, I was able to understand both groups much better. One of you wants to let go of traditions and completely change the wizarding world. The other wants to hold on to all wizarding traditions. Am I right?"

He could already see that he was. Both groups seemed both shocked and somewhat sheepish when their differences were laid out in such simple terms.

"I can tell that some of you who have been considered "dark" are already getting upset at my selection for wizarding representatives."

No one moved although many of them let their anger show. The only one who did not look upset was Narcissa who suddenly understood his visit to her son.

Harry smiled as he once again turned his attention back to everyone else. "I want it understood by everyone that I was very selective when choosing these representatives. I would not have picked them if they did not truly embody the ideals of what we are trying to achieve here."

"Your final representative, who will be representing those purebloods who don't want to lose your wizarding traditions, will be working very closely with Neville to ensure that everyone gets a say. Please welcome Draco Malfoy."

Half of the room was silent in shock while the other half began murmuring in confusion.

"I thought he was a death eater"

"Wasn't his father convicted"

"He was on You-Know-Who's side!"

Draco, despite having a less than warm welcome did his best to smile warmly. Once he reached the center of the room, Harry grasped his hand tightly and smiled brightly at his once arch enemy.

"For those of you who don't know, during Draco's trial it was proven that he was forced to take the dark mark to not only protect himself but also his mother. Not only that, but I also spoke for him at his trial. Twice during the war, if it wasn't for Draco, I would have been killed as would Ron and Hermione who were with me at least one of those times."

Harry was about to some something else, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at the blonde next time him. Without another word, Harry smiled, took a step back, and gave the floor to Draco.

With a deep breath the former death eater spoke, "There was a time when I would have agreed with everything that my father taught me. Of course if I did, I would be in a cell next to him. However, during the war I learned a lot about myself and about those I was forced to fight. Because of those things, I realized just how wrong my father and moreover, every death eater who joined His side, was. I am not asking you to trust me. I am asking for the chance to prove that I am trustworthy and to prove that I am not my father.

"When Potter approached me about this opportunity I was going to say no. I thought it would be too hard to earn your trust. I figured that I wouldn't be able to make a difference in a positive way." He gave Harry a smile, "But then he explained that I can't live in the past. he reminded me that the only way that I could make up for the mistakes of my family would be to do something about it. He told me that I had to define myself by my victories rather than my failures." He looked to the dark wizards in the room, "I am here to be your voice. I want to keep many of our traditions just as you do. However I am also here to see change. The way things have been have only caused pain. It's time to bring a little light to the world."

With that Draco, took a step back so that he was standing next to Neville. Harry couldn't help but feel proud as he looked at them standing side by side like a team should.

"Standing in front of you is your committee. They are all committed to make a positive change in the wizarding world while still holding on to the things that make wizarding Britain what it is. Now -"

"Wait!" Exclaimed a witch from the stands. "You never told us what your role will be. Who are representing."

Harry froze like a deer in headlights. He wasn't ready for this part. He knew they weren't going to react well. The fact that she asked and everyone else was nodding in agreement meant that they still expected him to lead them. Moreover, he had been hoping to avoid telling them himself and rather having the committee do it after he had gone. It looked like it wasn't going to work that way.

He glanced back at Kevin who gave him a sad smile and a nod. With a deep sigh, he answered the witch's question.

"My only role in this is creating this committee. After today, it will be up to them."

More confused mummers filled the room. Another wizard spoke from the back, "But you will be overseeing them right?"

Someone else, who harry couldn't see spoke, "Yes, you will be in charge of them right?"

More and more questions filled the room insisted that he must have some sort of role.

Directing magic to his vocal cords he cut everyone off, "I will not be part of this committee." Once everyone had quieted down he continued, "Prime Minster Fischer will be overseeing the committee to ensure that they are following the treaty. Minister Shacklebolt, if he is still willing, will continue to act as Minster of Magic until such a time that he is ready to step down.

"I don't have a role because I am not qualified to be part of this committee." He held up a hand as many began to protest, "Let me guess, you think I am qualified, because I killed Voldemort. Or maybe because I am the Boy-Who-Lived?" Many nodded to agree with him. "The truth is that I had a lot of luck in my life, not skill. I only succeed in killing Voldemort because I had friends by my side; because others sacrificed themselves to help me. The only reason I am the "boy-who-lived" is because my mother put a protection on me that required her to give her life to save mine.

"You see me as some sort of hero. You think that you need someone to save you. Here's the thing; if you are always looking to someone to save you, you'll never be able to stand on your own."

"I think," Narcissa said standing slowly, "That you underestimate yourself Mr. Potter."

"And I think that you overestimate me." Harry interrupted trying not to get upset. However, Narcissa seemed to be what everyone needed to make their opinions known. Others because trying to convince him to take a high position. Some even suggested becoming Minister for Magic.

He could see that they weren't going to accept his response. He didn't know how to fix this. He had gambled too much on them just doing what he said.

He felt a hand slip itself into his and heard Hermione's voice in his ear. "Stop trying to convince them Harry and just be open with them. Show them why you need to leave."

He turned to look at her incredulously. He knew what she was asking him to do but he didn't understand it. Wouldn't that just make him look weak? She smiled sadly as she saw that question in his eyes, "You need to break their picture of you. Show them who you really are." When he still looked hesitant she said, "Have I ever steered you wrong."

No she hadn't, that much Harry knew. So once again he trusted her and let down all of the walls he built up. He dropped the small glamour's that he had put on his person to hide his weariness. He let the emotion show on his face.

The slight shimmer of magic when his glamour's dropped was enough to catch some people's eye. Slowly they began to quiet themselves as they began to see him for the first time. Many looked horrified as they saw the dark circles under his eyes. Witches gasped as they saw how thin he was. Wizards gulped as they saw the emptiness in his eyes. They power that they so admired in him was suddenly dimmed.

"The truth is," He said, not covering the exhaustion in his voice, "I'm tired. I feel like I have been fighting since I was eleven years old. The truth is that I can't be what you need because I just don't have the strength anymore." He rubbed his eyes as he felt tears gather. He may be letting himself open up, but he was not going to cry here. "I am not going to be on this committee for two reasons. First of all, you must learn to stand on your own. You don't need me. Second, I just need a break."

He took a deep breath, "After today, unless you choose to change, you won't see me again. I will be leaving the wizarding world."

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Finally Kingsley spoke softly, "When you say leaving, do you mean...?" He trailed off not really knowing how to ask his question.

"I mean that I will be going into the muggle world. I don't know what it will look like yet, but I will no longer be having any part of the wizarding world and I don't know if I ever will again." he gave a shrug and added, "Perhaps if things change I may come back, but unless that happens I have no plans on returning."

This time nobody protested. Many looked like they wanted to, but choose not to. This was good.

Richard Walsh stood once more. "I think I can speak for most of us, Mr. Potter when I say, thank you for your hard work. We wish you would stay, but after all that you have done for us the least we can do is respect your decision."

Kingsley took over from there. "I think I would have to agree." He walked over to Harry carrying the plaque that they had tried to give him earlier. "We will miss you Harry. I know that you didn't want this, but I want to ask you once more to accept the award, that is if no one objects." No one spoke in objection, "I believe that it still rings true. You have scarified a lot and we do appreciate all that you have done. I hope that you will remember that. You deserve this whether or not you are with us physically. You will always be part of the wizarding world"

"I don't think -"

"Perhaps" Kingsley interrupted before Harry could refuse, "If you just accept it but you don't have to take the plaque." He looked at said plaque with a sad smile. "I would actually love to hang this in my office. I think it will remind me that no one man can do anything alone but they have to have a team to back them up."

Harry nodded his acceptance not able to speak as his voice tightened with emotion. Kingsley smiled and clapped Harry on the shoulder before turning to the committee for moment. He then looked to those in the stands, "Well, then I guess we only have one more thing to do."

He walked back to his stand, "I Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mister for Magic officially call this wizengoment meeting to an end for the last time."

And with that it was over.

Many stood and left immediately to see their families. Others stayed to speak to each other. Some even walked down to speak to some on the committee.

However no one approached the wizarding representatives who had gathered around Harry along with Kevin.

Draco grasped Harry's hand tightly, "I hope that you find what you're looking for Potter." He said before nodding to the others. "I will see the rest of you soon." He walked away to where Narcissa was waiting.

Susan and Neville both looked sadly at Harry who just smiled back encouragingly. "I will miss you guys. Thank you for everything you have done."

"What are you talking about?" Neville replied, "It's us who should be thanking you."

Harry held up a hand, "Please don't. I have had enough people thanking me today."

Neville smiled as he grabbed the hand that Harry was holding up. "So long Harry."

As Neville and Susan walked away, Harry's vision was obscured by bushy brown hair. He gently hugged Hermione back as she whispered in his ear. "Please, take care of yourself Harry. Do everything that you've always wanted. But don't forget about us."

Harry chuckled, "I could never forget about you Hermione; or Ron. I love you both very much."

Hermione squeezed him tight as she tried not to cry. That was the first time that Harry had ever said that he loved anyone. It was always implied, but he had never actually said it.

Finally she let go of him and watched him as he began to back away. Kevin, standing next to Hermione, smiled as he said, "We'll be in touch Harry."

With a nod, Harry turned and walked out of the courtroom. Surprisingly the hallways as well as the lift were empty. Even when he made it to the atrium there were very few people there.

Harry felt his muscles tense as he got closer and closer to the visitor's entrance and exit. Once he left the ministry it would all be over. He would be free for the first time.

But it was too easy. There was no one to stop him; no one was trying to force him to stay. He was so used to having opposition that having no resistance felt wrong.

He got into the lift that would take him back to the surface; he was still waiting for something, anything, to go wrong. Suddenly the box felt stuffy and seemed too small. Was it going slower? Was it going to stop right before it reached the surface?

Just as his thoughts took a dark turn, he felt the lift shudder to a stop and he was back inside the telephone booth looking out at London.

As he stepped out and took a deep breath. All of his tense muscles relaxed and his worries faded.

He was free.

* * *

One more chapter and then this part will be finished.

Thanks for reading. See you next time :)


	7. The Start of Something New

This will be the final chapter for this part. There will be a sequel to this however, it will be short and will be setting the stage for the final part.

Part three of this series will be a surprise crossover. I will be dropping hints in part two so I am sure many of you will figure it out.

For now enjoy the final chapter.

* * *

Life has a funny way of making you instantly question your own sanity. He thought that the hardest part about leaving was the actual leaving part. He didn't know that the hardest thing would be not returning. It was so easy at the time to walk away but he never imagined that it would be difficult to stay away.

The first day wasn't too bad. He slept for the first time in what felt like days and ate without interruption. It was wonderful.

However he was lonely. He was so used to having someone there all the time that having no one felt wrong. That was the first time that he contemplated going back.

The second day wasn't any better. He didn't know what to do. He had no job, nothing to work towards, no one to fight for and no one to fight against. He thought that he would be happy to not have to fight anyone and yet he found himself wishing for it.

By day three he knew that something had to change. That was how he found himself in front of his old prison. The one place he thought that he would never return to, He found himself in front of just one week after he left the wizarding world.

After his third day and almost breaking his own vow to never return to the wizarding world, he had contacted Ragnok (who was to be his only contact for business purposes of course) to ask him to find out what had happened to the Dursley's. They had apparently been informed that the war was over and were due to return to their house by the end of the week.

Harry arranged with Ragnok to allow him to make the final arrangements for the Dursley's. So he found himself waiting by the front door of number four private drive.

Just as he was about to lose his nerve and leave, he saw a familiar car pulling into the drive way. He could also see Uncle Vernon's furious face when he recognized who was standing at the front door.

As the car came to a stop in the driveway, Harry could hear Uncle Vernon's incensed mutterings as he attempted to furiously get out of the car to yell at his nephew. However, despite his best efforts, he failed spectacularly. With the first step out of the car, his massive weight threw off his balance causing him to flail his arms to grab a hold of the car door to prevent him from falling. If Harry had been in a better mood then he may have actually laughed. However, they would be the opposite of what he was trying to achieve.

He had planned to wait until his aunt and uncle were at the door before he actually greeted them. Dudley though, seemed to have other plans as he jumped out of the car much faster than his father did and confidently walked up to his cousin.

"Harry!" He shouted joyfully, to Harry's immense surprise. Aunt Petunia followed her son, though at a much slower pace. While she didn't look furious like Vernon, she also didn't look excited to see her nephew.

"Heya Big D." said Harry with a small smile on his face. He and Dudley had their issues, but it was quite apparent that Dudley wanted to work them out so Harry saw no reason to be hostile towards him.

As Petunia and Vernon approached, Harry turned and walked into the house gesturing them to follow. He was glad when he heard Petunia's pleased gasp of surprise when she saw how clean and tidy everything was.

"I made sure that everything was put back exactly where it was before. I also came in yesterday to make sure that everything would be clean to your standards. You will find that all of the kitchen appliances have been updated to the latest models. The garden and hedges have been weeded and trimmed and all of your other belonging should be in your rooms already." Harry said quickly and quietly allowing them to have a look around. It was unsurprising when Vernon grunted unimpressed.

"Boy, this better not be stolen goods. I won't have any – "

"I assure you that they are not stolen." Harry said, effectively cutting off his uncle. He wasn't about to put up with anything that his uncle said today. He came wanting to make peace not fight.

Vernon just grunted before making his way upstairs with angry mutters still flowing out of his mouth.

Dudley rolled his eyes slightly at his fathers retreating back. "Thanks Harry," He said turning back to his cousin. "he may not see it now, but he will appreciate later, even if he'll never admit it."

Harry gave a grin, "Whatever you say Dudley."

During this exchange Petunia shifted nervously as if unsure of something. It was only when Harry announced that he would be leaving that she snapped into action.

"Wait." She said before Harry could make it to the door. He stopped and turned to look at her with a confused look on his face.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked thinking that there was something out of place.

Petunia stayed silent for a moment before shaking her head, "No, I just – Would you like some tea before you go?"

Harry's eyebrows were suddenly lost in his hair line. Of all the things he expected his aunt to say, that was that least expected. A part of him was slightly curious as to what she wanted but mostly he just wanted to be out of this house.

"Yeah, Harry! Stay for tea. I'd like to hear all about what you've been up to." Dudley said cutting off any sort of response from his cousin. Before anyone could say anything else, he made his way to the kitchen to begin putting on some tea.

Seeing that Dudley was not giving him a choice, Harry glanced at his aunt before following him to the kitchen. After a moment Petunia followed as well.

It wasn't long later that that the strange trio was sitting in the same kitchen that they always did and yet they were all different people.

"So," Dudley began, "It's all over then?" At Harry's raised eyebrow he continued, "The war I mean. I figured since we were able to come back here, but –"

"Yes," Harry replied with a smile, "It's all over. It officially ended about two months ago but it took a while for the Ministry to get back on its feet. Most of the remaining Death Eaters have been captured."

"So that guy – the one who...well...who's been after you – They caught him too? Is he in prison now?"

Harry frowned slightly. He had never told the Dursley's the prophecy only that they needed to get out to stay safe. He figured he could be honest with them now that it was all over.

"Well, no, not exactly." Harry said. At their questioning look, he continued, "He's dead."

"Dead?"

Harry chuckled, "Yes Dudley. Dead as in no longer living."

"I know what dead means, you prat." Dudley smiled to show that he was mostly kidding, "But, I thought that he was like super powerful and stuff. Who killed him? How were they able to kill him? Why didn't they do it before?"

Harry gave his cousin a nervous look, "Trust me the only reason he's dead is because of a lot of luck. For a while I didn't think we would be successful."

"Was it you?" Petunia asked, speaking for the first time.

"What?" Harry asked although he had a feeling about what she was asking.

"Dudley asked who killed him, but you didn't answer. Was it you?"

Harry stared at his aunt for a long time trying to decide whether to be honest or not. Decided that he had nothing to lose, he answered, "Yes, it was me."

Petunia nodded stiffly. "I figured. The way that you insisted that we leave – you made it seem like he would keep coming after you."

Harry couldn't help but laugh a little bitterly. "And he did. Once he took over the Ministry I was suddenly at the top of their most wanted list. It wasn't just him looking for me, it was the whole country." Harry gave a small shake of his head to get rid of the memories of the last year that came up.

The kitchen was silent once again before Petunia spoke. "So I guess that you will have to redo your last year at Hogwarts?"

For a moment, Harry couldn't reply. He had never actually heard his aunt say the word "Hogwarts" or anything associated with it. It just went to show that the war really did affect everyone.

So with a shake of his head, he replied, "No, I won't be going back."

"Why not?" Dudley asked, "They won't let you."

"No I just –" At that moment the phone rang startling all three occupants of the kitchen. They didn't expect anyone to know that they were home.

With a sigh, Petunia got up to answer the phone. While she was doing that Harry continued somewhat nervously.

"I just decided that I was done, you know. I need a break."

Dudley looked like he still didn't understand but nodded his head anyway. Right as he was about to say something, Petunia came back with the phone in her hang. She held it out to Harry.

"It's for you." She said a little confused. "He said his name is Kevin."

Harry's eyes widened then narrowed before he took the phone and said bluntly. "How did you know I was here?"

There was a laugh on the other line, "We had a meeting today and the issue of your relatives came up. Ragnok just happened to mention that someone else was taking care of it. It wasn't hard to piece together that it was you."

Harry gave a great sigh. So far staying out of the wizarding world was not working out so far. Before he could contemplate this further, Kevin spoke again.

"Listen Harry, I want you to come by my office tomorrow morning. I want to talk to you about a couple of things before you disappear completely. I promise that there won't be any talk about the wizarding world."

Harry was silent for a moment before he sighed, "Alright. I'll be there."

"Perfect, I will see you at 9:00 am sharp."

As Harry hung up the phone, Dudley immediately burst out with questions. "Who was that? How did they know you were here? Was it a wizard?"

Harry's eyes widened before he let out a laugh forcing Dudley to stop asking questions. "That was just someone who has been helping me out with something. And no, is not a wizard, hence why he knows how to use the phone."

Dudley blushed, realizing that he was asking too many questions at once. However, after everyone was silent once again, he asked, "So why don't you want to go back to Hogwarts.

Harry sighed and looked down at his, now cold, tea. "Its kind of a long story."

Petunia, showing that her observations skills had only increased, quickly switched out his cold tea with a fresh cup. "I think we have time, that is, if you are willing to share it with us."

* * *

The next morning Harry once again found himself at number 10 Downing St. This time the security team greeted him with less suspicious looks and a few actually smiled. He was quickly taken through security and in no time found himself being ushered into The Prime Minister's office.

As he entered and the door was closed behind him Harry was surprised to see that Kevin was standing on a chair hanging a sheet over what looked to be a large portrait.

"Be with you in a moment." Kevin said without turning and he finished tucking the last corner over the top of the portrait.

Finally he stepped down and seemed to look at it with a satisfied air. He turned to the wizard with a large grin on his face.

"That portrait connects to the Ministry of Magic. I figured we don't want them to know that you are here."

Harry smiled and sat down across from the Prime Minister.

Kevin peered at the young wizard for a moment before he said, "How are you, Harry?"

Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I'm well...but I'm sure you didn't just bring me here to check up on me."

Kevin chuckled, "Ah, but that is where you are wrong." He took a deep breath and leaned forward as he continued. "Harry, I have to be perfectly honest with you. My opinion of wizards was rather poor until I met you. Not only that, but in the weeks that we got to know you, both myself and her majesty have found ourselves quite fond of you."

Harry was surprised and not quite sure how to react. However, before he could say anything, Kevin continued.

"I can only imagine how difficult it must be to adjust. I want you to know that we are here for you and if you ever need anything, you just say the word."

Harry shook his head, "I don't want any favoritism – "

"This isn't favoritism. This is just me helping out a friend. I can just understand that you have been disconnected from this world and so you might feel a bit lost on how to move on from here."

Harry gave a grim smile. That was exactly how he had been feeling. Maybe, for once, he would take the help that was being offered.

"Okay...I'll take any advice you can give."

Kevin smiled brightly, "Perfect! Let's get started."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Time Hop~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~18 Months Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Karen Williams sighed as she walked into her office to prepare for her next meeting. It wasn't that she disliked her job; however, sometimes she wondered if this was really where she could make the most of her time. She chose to go into teaching because she wanted to be able to help future generations reach their full potential. When she became the Dean of Kingston University, she insisted on staying involved in the lives of the students.

Which brought her to today; She was getting ready to meet a young man who was becoming more and more of a mystery to her. He had applied a few months ago and submitted very high scores from his levels. He was brought to her attention because her staff found very few records of him before he took his levels. He was shown to have attended Primary school in Little Whinging, Surrey but he disappeared right before secondary school. The suddenly he showed up again 5 months ago to take his levels.

Her first instinct was set up a meeting with him and interrogate him. Then on the day before she was to meet with him, she received a phone call from Prime Minister Kevin Fischer. He had told her that this young man's disappearance after Primary school was a matter of national security and that what he was going to tell her was top secret.

What he had revealed had definitely shocked her. She had never met a wizard who actually wanted to attend a muggle University. She couldn't help but wonder what brought him to Kingston. The Prime Minister had only explained the basics but she knew that there was something big being left out.

She of course knew about the wizarding world. Her sister's son was a wizard as well. The only reason Karen knew about it was because she was there when he got his Hogwarts letter. From then on she tried to learn more about this mysterious wizarding world. What she did learn about the wizarding world helped her to notice things that not many normal people would. She knew from news report, strange electric storms and bird sightings that something big had been happening in the wizarding world for a few years up until about a year ago. Then its was like the wizarding world had disappeared once more.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. Her assistant, a bubbly bright eyed, young woman, popped her head in.

"Ma'am. Harry Potter is here to see you." She said lightly, but Karen noticed a slight blush on her cheeks. Harry Potter must be quite the looker for Karen had never noticed her assistant this flustered.

Karen nodded and replied. "Very Well send him in."

Not more than a minute later, a young man walked into her office, with such an air of confidence and authority that Karen found herself standing to greet him.

He was definitely not what she expected. She had almost expected some crazy man who dressed in robes and maybe had a pointy hat. However, Harry Potter looked perfectly normal. He wore jeans and a maroon button down shirt. His hair was slightly messy but almost looked as if he had purposely styled it that way. He had a bright smile and just slightly tanned skin.

The only thing about him that was even slightly different were his eyes that caught her attention. Not only were they a bright emerald green which was a rare color in itself, but they seemed to make him look much older that she knew him to be. In that moment, Karen knew that this young man had been through a lot.

"Mr. Potter." She greeted him cordially trying to gather her wits. "I am Karen Williams, Dean of Kingston University."

"Ms. Williams, it's a pleasure." He answered pleasantly.

"I must say that you are definitely not what expected from a wizard."

For a moment he just paused and didn't move. Then he gave a tired sigh and rubbed his eyes and said, "Ah, Kevin called you, didn't he?"

She gave a quiet chuckle, "He did. You make it sound like you expected it."

"While I appreciate his help, I have been asking him to allow me to do things on my own. After all I am never going to learn if I don't try. The last three universities that I applied to, he did the same thing. Although," He peered up at her, "You are the first that has been told that I am a wizard."

"That is probably because I already knew about the wizarding world. My sister's son is a wizard as well. I just happen to have been there when he received his letter to his school."

Harry nodded in understanding, and then gave a great sigh. "Well, Ms Williams. It was nice meeting you –"

Karen frowned, "Mr. Potter. We haven't even started."

"I don't want any special privileges. It has happened at all the universities I have spoken to. They have tried to offer me things like exceptional housing, special classes and the like; all because the Prime Minister called on my behalf." He shook his head briefly, "I have had enough special privileges in my life. I am not looking for any more."

"Mr. Potter, I assure you that I would have met with you whether the Prime Minister had called or not. I also am not the type to give any sort of special privileges, If anything, I may be a little harder on just to make sure you are not a spoiled brat."

Harry stared, having not expected this reaction.

"However, I will tell you this: now that I do know at least a piece of your story, I will have no problem accepting you. Your level scores were high but not so high that I won't expect you to work hard. The only reason I hesitated letting you in was because of your non existent history. Now that has been explained so I see no reason that you can't continue your education here.

For another moment Harry stared in shock. Then a wide grin split his face.

"Ms. Williams, thank you for accepting me. I will do my best."

"I'm sure that you will, Mr. Potter."

* * *

June 5th, 2000

Denver, Colorado, USA

Denver East High School

(First POV)

* * *

 _I believe I can fly_

 _I believe I can touch the sky_

It was finally here. After four years the same old boring routine every day and everyone telling me how to live my life, I was almost free; free from the prison that I had been condemned to.

Okay, maybe not prison, but high school was pretty close.

 _I think about it every night and day_

 _Spread my wings and fly away_

I couldn't help but sway slightly as our school's senior choir sang our class song. Oh, how true the words were in my own life. I was so ready to fly away and live my own life. I wanted to get out of Denver. It was too crowded and things were always changing. I couldn't imagine anyone who would actually want to live here.

 _I believe I can soar_

 _See me running through that open door_

Now Los Angeles, on the other hand, was a great place. I visited my brother there during spring break and absolutely fell in love with it. I decided then and there that that's where I wanted to go. Once I got to UCLA with my best friend Cassidy life would be absolutely perfect.

 _I believe I can fly_

 _I believe I can fly_

 _I believe I can fly_

That is as long as my father said yes. I glance over at where my parents were sitting. My mother, the lively and kind woman that she was, waved excitedly when she saw me. My father, Thomas, though not as animated as my mother, gave me a proud smile as well. I smiled back if only to appease them.

They would be my biggest challenge in getting to LA. My father had this thing about challenging all of his kids after their high school graduation; something about "Learning what the real world was like" and "not relying on mommy and daddy's money".

I tried not to snort. My father always made us sound like spoiled rich kids. Okay, so maybe my parents were pretty well off. Daddy was a well known and pretty famous contractor. His company built everything from hospitals and schools to houses and apartments. My mom was the famous Emily Anderson, who was known for her makeup and costume design and also as an actress. You would think that with all of the business that her mother does in LA that she would be ecstatic that her daughter wanted to move there.

But no, the first time I even mentions moving to LA she had given me this disappointed look and told me to explore all of my option.

I wanted to tell her that I had and that they all sucked. But I didn't. I knew that if I wanted to go to LA then I would need to start behaving right away. I made sure that my grades were all as I high as I could get them. I did everything that they ever asked me to do. I even did extra things around the house without having to be asked.

Hopefully it will be enough. Sometimes I wished that my parents would just let me do whatever I wanted like Cassidy's parents. Sadly I was Allison Anderson, daughter of Thomas and Emily Anderson so my life was of course difficult.

I shook my head. I just had to make sure that I phrased it right. My brother, Jensen, told dad straight up that he wanted to marry his girlfriend and have a family. He didn't want to go to college but instead wanted to take his music to California and eventually become a music producer.

I could still remember that cold calculating look on my father's face. He had asked Jensen how he planned to do that. Stupid brother that he was, Jensen had said that he hoped that mom and dad would help him out. That was when dad flipped out. That was when he made the rule that if his kids wanted help getting out on their own they would have to challenge themselves. He then told my brother that if he did two years in the military and got at least a general education through that then they would help him and Mary move to LA.

My thoughts were interrupted by the thundering sound of applause. The choir had apparently finished singing their version of R. Kelly's "I believe I can fly".

'Finally' I couldn't help but think to myself as our principal announced. "Ladies and gentleman, Denver East High class of 2000!"

I couldn't help but let out a laugh and cheer with the rest my classmates as we threw out caps into the air.

Finally I was free.

* * *

"Have you asked them yet?" My best friend Cassidy asked as we finally got away from the crowd of well wishers and smothering family. Our parents had decided to have our graduation parties together at Cassidy's house.

"No. I haven't had a chance yet. I don't want to push it though. Dad is already suspicious that I haven't asked for anything yet. I need to wait for them to approach me." I responded glancing around to make sure nobody heard us. It would be just like my dad to have people spy on me.

"Well, I wish they would hurry up. Girl, we need to start planning. I definitely am leaning toward Delta Nu but we need to investigate other sororities to make sure we join the right one."

"I know, but we don't want to push it. I have to make it seem like I picked something hard otherwise he won't think I'm being challenged enough or whatever." I replied with a roll of my eyes. Cassidy was always impatient and pushy but they had been best friends since they were in middle school. By now Cassidy's quirks were just normal.

"If they don't bring it up by tomorrow I will ask." I said, "Now lets get back to the party before they figure out what's going on."

* * *

The next day I decided to make breakfast. Normally Gregory, our butler, made all of our meals but I told him that I insisted this morning. Although I'm sure that he was close by making sure that I didn't burn down the kitchen.

I figured that breakfast might be enough to spark a conversation with my parents. Plus cooking was something that I loved and was actually good at. Jensen was a musician, I was a cook. It was how things have always been. So despite the conversation that I knew was coming I couldn't help but hum a little tune as I began mixing the pancake mix.

30 minutes later just as everyone was coming into the kitchen, I put the finishing touches on breakfast; scrambled eggs mixed with peppers, onions, and cheese, breakfast potatoes, bacon, blueberry pancakes and cinnamon French toast.

"Well, this is a nice surprise." My mother said as she and my father entered the kitchen.

I smiled and gestured for them to sit down. For a while everything was quite except for the soft clinks of silverware. Eventually my brothers and sister had to go (They still had school) and it was just my parents and myself.

It was when I started to clean up that my father finally spoke.

"Hold on a second Allison. Come, have a seat." He said, guesturing to the chair across from them.

"Now," he said, "What is it that you want exactly?"

I should have known that I couldn't fool him. I took a deep breath and said what I had been practicing.

"Well, I know that I have told you guys before that I want to go into teaching and art after graduation. Obviously that means collage. I wanted to talk to you guys and see if you approve."

"So," My mother asked, "You are planning to major in art education?" When I nodded she asked, "Anything else. You don't want to minor in something? Learn something new?"

"Of course I'll be learning new things." I said, "Maybe I'll pick a minor, but right now I am just focused on my teaching degree."

"And where," My father asked suddenly, "Are you planning on getting this degree."

Here it is. The moment of truth. "Well, I have done some research and narrowed it down to one. I was thinking, UCLA."

For a moment the kitchen was silent. I could see my father calculating everything about our conversation. He didn't scowl, which was good. My mother had a strange look on her face but looked like she was not going to say anything. Finally my father made a decision.

"No."

My world froze at the word. This wasn't happening. I was sure that I could get them to say yes. And yet 'yes' was not the word to come out of my father's mouth.

"But Daddy –" I started but he interrupted me.

"No. You will not be going to UCLA."

"Why? What is so wrong with it. It's a reputable school and I'll be close to Jensen so its not like I won't be around family –"

"That is not what I am worried about."

"Then what?" I asked trying to keep my tone respectful and failing miserably.

"You want to go to UCLA because that is where Cassidy is going. You want to go because you want to move to LA. You picked UCLA because you thought I wouldn't realize that you are looking for the easy way out."

I was silent. He had hit all of the reasons that I wanted to go and I knew that I couldn't refute them.

"What is our family motto, Allison?"

Oh, no. Here is comes. This is what he made Jensen do right before he issued his challenge. I hated the family motto

"Learn how to handle rejection, work hard, have integrity and function outside your comfort zone. Success will be yours." I repeated the dreaded motto with a sigh. This was not going how I wanted it to.

"That's right." My father said, "So, no, you will not be going to UCLA."

I was trying not to cry, I really was. However despite my efforts I still felt the salty liquid drip from my eyes.

"You need to experience what life is like out there. You won't find that in LA. So here is my challenge to you." My father continued, "You can pick any college that is not located in the US. Your mother and I will pay for your education and your housing but you will also need to learn to live on your own. We will help you for the first year by giving you a small allowance, but for your second year you need to get a job. We cut your allowance down by half every year that you are there. So your job will need to pay for your food and necessities. The only possession that we will continue to pay for is your cell phone so that you can keep in contact with us."

I couldn't help it with every word that my father added to my challenge my tears got thicker. By the time he was done, I was almost outright sobbing. This was not how things were supposed to be. I thought I had it all figured out. I thought that I knew how this was going to play out. But that wasn't what was happening. Everything; all of my planning and scheming was for nothing.

I could do nothing but nod at my parents before walking to my room, leaving the dirty dishes and leftovers on the table.

I thought I could fly; I was wrong.

* * *

Third POV

* * *

Allison, though upset about not being able to go to her chosen school, didn't fight her father on this decision. That didn't mean she didn't tell Cassidy in her anger and hurt. Cassidy, although spoiled and somewhat snobbish was still a relatively good friend. She vowed to Allison that she would force her parents to send her where ever she decided to go.

Just two days after her conversation with her father she and Cassidy went to the local library to research universities in another country. Allison figured that it should probably be somewhere in the UK since English was the language there. There was no point in making her challenge more miserable because she couldn't understand anybody.

At first she thought about trying to get into someplace like Oxford. However, as high as her grades were in high school she knew that she didn't have the work ethic to get by in a place like Oxford. She knew that she had to pick somewhere that wasn't a joke but was also realistic for her (and Cassidy) to excel at.

Finally they narrowed it down the Kingston University. While it was a reputable school it wasn't as expensive and therefore not as elite as somewhere like Oxford.

When she presented her pick to her father she was surprised when he agreed with no fight at all. Although he looked disappointed when he found out Cassidy was going as well. However he knew that he had no control over when her best friend when to school.

That was how Allison found herself checking in at Denver International Airport getting ready to leave the country for the first time her life. Cassidy and her parents were in line behind her. Her father was purchasing the tickets as well as arranging a credit card so that Allison could arrange to fly home for holiday's.

Her brothers and sister were standing next to her nearly bouncing with excitement.

"I can't believe you get to leave the country." Her brother Tim said grabbing one arm.

"Yeah you are so lucky!" said Tim's mirror image, also known as Matt, as he grabbed her other arm.

Allison wouldn't call herself lucky but as she looked at her twin brothers staring at her with hazel eyes full of excitement for her, she found herself nodding with them.

She moodily put her bags on the scale and took her ticket from her father. Her family followed behind her, Tim and Matt still chattering excitedly, as they made their way to Security. Her little sister Tayler walked behind them almost as moody as Allison was, although for a different reason.

It wasn't until they were at the line in front of the conveyor belt and metal detectors that her mother grabbed her in a hug.

"Oh, Ally! I'm gonna miss you so much! Now, have fun and make lots of friends and don't forget to call us."

"I won't" She replied, rolling her eyes just a little bit. As her mother released her, Allison turned to her father. He gently took her by the shoulders

"Allison, you are going to be okay. I think that you will like it there much more than you think. Now, study hard. I don't want to get any calls that your grades aren't where they should be."

Allison nodded. They had spoken about it when she was going through admissions. Her father had told her that if at any time she was failing her classes, he will pull her out immediately and send her to join the army. Allison tried not to shudder at the thought of it.

She quickly hugged her siblings good-bye and joined Cassidy in line to go through security. Vaugly she heard her mother say

"We love you, sweetie!"

However, Allison just proceeded to put her things on the belt and waited in line to go through the metal detector. Okay, so she was still a little mad at her parents but she felt that she had reason to be. They were forcing her to go to school in another country. She wasn't getting to do what she had always wanted.

Nothing good could come out of this.

* * *

And there it is. This is the end of Just Walk Away: Part 1. Here is a little summer of Part two.

 _Harry Potter has succeeded in leaving the wizarding world. Now he faces his toughest challenge yet...Living. Can he keep his magic and past a secret while at the same time living to his full potential. Allison Anderson has been forced, through a challenge by her father, to attend a university away from her home country in the states. Can she learn to live away from her comfortable life and in doings so gain experience and learn life lessons that she otherwise wouldn't have._

I hope that you all enjoyed reading this. I have definitely enjoyed writing.

See you next time...

AvariNessaDiego


End file.
